Could This Be Love
by KillTheBitch
Summary: Katherine developed feelings for Elena and Elena begins to feel the same way. But what happens when the Salvatore's get Rebekah to compel Elena to hate Katherine?
1. Hello Elena

**AN: Hey :) This is my first FanFiction ever and please be gentle with me. English isn't my native language, so I still mess up with tenses and grammar sometimes..**

**I'm not really sure about the Title yet, so I'll maybe change it later.**

**Well, I hope that you'll like my first attempt at writing a FF and please let me know if you want me to continue this story. :)**

* * *

Elena laid on her bed, staring at her ceiling. She had cried for hours. She still couldn't comprehend that her brother was dead. The only one who was left of her family was now gone too. How is she supposed to go on without him? How is she supposed to live forever if she can't even watch him grow up and start his own family. If she isn't able to do it at least he should've been. This is not how it should've gone, this is not how her and his life was supposed to be.

All this just because of some cure that was supposed to turn her back into an human being. She thought back to the moment in the cave. When she saw Katherine in front of her, she knew everything would go wrong. Elena couldn't understand how Katherine found out about the cure. How she found them this fast. How she got there and then even fled with the cure without getting caught. Weren't Damon and Rebekah still next to the hole. They could've stopped her. Should've stopped her. How could they miss her? How could anyone on the island miss her? How did no one notice that she was there?

And then it hit her. This all never would have happened if Stefan and Damon didn't try to get to know her. If Stefan never would have signed in for High School and if they never would have fallen in love with each other. Elena probably never would've ended up as a vampire and therefore didn't need a cure.

Elena knew it was completely wrong to think like this and that even without the Salvatore Brothers in her life, Klaus probably would've found and killed her right then and there. There would've been no one to protect her. But then everyone would still be alive instead of ending up dead just for trying to save her.

Nevertheless Elena couldn't shake the immense feeling of guilt building up inside of her. She couldn't stop thinking about everyone who sacrificed their life for her. Jenna. John. Alaric. And now even Jeremy. Tears welled up again and she shook her head, trying to hold them back. She didn't want to cry anymore. She didn't even want to live anymore. She sat up, thinking about giving it all up. Just taking off the daylight ring and walk outside, waiting for the sunlight. But as her eyes fell on a photo of her and Jeremy on her drawer she knew she couldn't do it. Jeremy's death mustn't be for nothing. She knew he would want her to live her life and be happy. She closed her eyes and could feel a single tear rolling down her cheek.

After they came back from the Island, Elena went to her old House instead of the Boarding House. She didn't want to see or talk to the Salvatore Brothers, since some part of her felt like this was all their fault. They tried to comfort her, but she wouldn't have any of it. She even screamed at them and didn't care about the pain in their eyes. Damon and Stefan thought it was just because she's hurting and she'll come around, but Elena wasn't so sure if she could ever talk to them again. Surprisingly she blamed them more than Katherine.

Elena was alone at home and still sat on her bed, when she heard the front door open. She opened her eyes and released a shaky breath. She wiped her tears off of her face and watched her room door, expecting Damon or Stefan to come in any minute. But nothing happened. Suddenly feeling suspicious, Elena got up and carefully walked over to the door. Cautiously she opened the door, but saw no one in the dark hallway and couldn't hear anything.

"Hello?" Her shout came out weak and shaky from the many hours of crying. Suddenly she felt a whoosh of air behind her. She quickly turned around and froze. Right there in front of her, stood Katherine, a small box in her hands and her eyes looking like she had been crying.

"Hello Elena." Her usually strong voice came out weak and vulnerable.


	2. What The Hell Just Happened?

**AN: Thank you so much for your favorites, follows and reviews. :)**

**I know that Katherine might seem a little bit OOC but since this story wouldn't work out in the way I want it to, she needs to be. And I really hope I'm able to convey the idea that formed in my head in the right way..**

**Well, enough said! Here's Chapter 2 for you! :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Diaries. Otherwise Elena would be with Katherine. **

* * *

_Right there in front of her, stood Katherine, a small box in her hands and her eyes looking like she had been crying._

_"Hello Elena." Her usually strong voice came out weak and vulnerable._

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Elena stared intensely at Katherine and tried to keep her voice firm, but it still came out somewhat shaky.

Katherine tried to avoid Elena's stare and looked everywhere but the brown-haired girl in front of her. Her hands fidgeted with the box and she released a shaky breath. "I…I don't k-know… I just know, t-that I couldn't do it… I couldn't do it and…" She trails off while her glassy eyes found Elena's brown ones.

"You couldn't do what?!" Elena shouted angrily, tears welling up in her eyes, too. "You couldn't let us get the cure? You couldn't let my brother stay alive?" Elena's voice raised with every word and then she couldn't hold back and went into full rage, slamming Katherine against the wall, using her full vampire power. She neither noticed the crack that appeared on the wall nor the picture that fell to the floor. She just kept screaming at Katherine, who surprisingly didn't do anything, instead just kept staring at the ground as tears cascaded down her face.  
"YOU KILLED HIM! YOU FUCKING KILLED HIM AND NOW YOU DARE COMING BACK SAYING YOU COULDN'T DO IT?!" Elena's voice boomed through the empty house. When Katherine raised her eyes off the ground and almost timidly looked up to her, Elena tightened her grip on Katherine's throat making her choke. "You killed my brother. It's your fault. Your fucking fault that he's dead." Elena was now openly crying as she held the submissive Katherine captive against the wall. "He was the only one left of my family. How could you do that? You lost your own family, you know how this feels and yet you killed mine!" She shook her head in disbelief while she looked into those doe eyes that exactly looked like her own.

Katherine swallowed hard and choked out "I'm sorry. I'm s-so sorry, Elena."  
"NO. You're not!" Elena released Katherine's throat and punched the wall right next to Katherine's face, which caused Katherine to squeeze her eyes shut.  
Elena couldn't take it anymore. Without noticing what she was doing, she leaned forward and rested her head on Katherine's shoulder, closing her eyes. She continued to cry and her whole body was shaking. She kept on whispering "No you're not." Katherine hesitantly raised her arms and put them around Elena, still holding the box. When Elena didn't seem to push her away, she tightened her grip and laid her own head on Elena's shoulder. "I'm sorry." She quietly repeated, as she tried to calm the sobbing Elena by gently swaying from side to side.

It was an odd sight and if the Salvatore Brothers came in they wouldn't believe their eyes. Katherine and Elena in a tight embrace, tears and mascara running down both their cheeks. It was obvious that Elena was too caught up in her thoughts and grief that she didn't realize that she was actually hugging Katherine out of all people. The woman she accused of having killed her brother only seconds ago. It was when Katherine started to move her hands over Elena's back in a supposedly soothing manner, that their position finally hit Elena's mind.

Elena abruptly pushed Katherine off of her and stared at her, confusion and anger clear in her eyes. "What are you doing?" She demanded irritated. "Why are you even here?"  
Katherine bit her lip. She looked up at the ceiling and then back to Elena, releasing another breath she didn't realize she held. "I couldn't take it." Her eyes burned into Elena's as they were full with regret. "I couldn't take the cure. I tried to but.." "What do you mean you couldn't take the cure?" Elena cut her off, crossing her arms over her chest, expectantly staring at Katherine. Katherine dropped her gaze for a moment and when she looked back up to Elena she held out the box she has been holding the entire time. Elena suspiciously eyed the box. "Is this..?" She didn't finish the question. But Katherine knew what she meant. "Yes. Yes, it is." Elena shot Katherine a surprised look. She opened her mouth to say something but got interrupted by her doppelgänger. "Listen Elena. I know how weird this is going to sound, but when I was back at my apartment and opened the box and saw the cure…I…I knew I couldn't do it." Fresh tears appeared in her eyes. "What do you mean?" Elena asked skeptically. Katherine sighed. "I really don't know why. But somehow I couldn't bring myself to take the cure. Maybe it was because internally I'm not able to give up on my life as a vampire. Maybe I've been a vampire for so long, that I can't… maybe even don't want to be human anymore. I even had the cure right at my lips and I still couldn't drink it." Her lips quivered. "But you can. You should be human again and you deserve to be human again. I'm so sorry about your brother, I was blinded by my need to get to the cure and I don't know why, but I feel so bad about killing him and I just.." Elena raised her hands to stop Katherine from talking. "You're rambling, Katherine." "I..I know. I just wanted to give you back what belonged to you right from the beginning." She once again held the box out for Elena to take, her hands slightly shaking. Elena's eyes widened. "What's in for you?" Her gaze fell to the box and then back up to Katherine. Katherine just shook her head and whispered "Nothing. Just take it."

Elena hesitantly reached out and slowly wrapped her fingers around the box. While doing so, she brushed against Katherine's finger and felt a light electric shock rushing up her arm and through her whole body. She glanced up at Katherine and assuming by the look on her face she felt it, too. Elena swallowed hard and then took the box out of Katherine's hand. Once she had it, she pressed it against her chest and took a few fast steps back, keeping her eyes on Katherine.

Katherine let her hands fall to her side and looked deeply into Elena's eyes. Elena couldn't explain why but she started to get lost in Katherine's sad brown eyes. Katherine slowly came closer and stopped right in front of her. She hesitantly reached up and cupped Elena's cheek, who unconsciously leaned into the touch, her eyes never leaving Katherine's. They shared a quiet moment, each trying to read the other's mind. Another tear left Katherine's eye and she whispered once again "I'm sorry."

Suddenly Katherine was gone, leaving a very confused Elena. She snapped out of her trance and looked at the box in her hands.

_What the hell just happened?_


	3. Flashback

**Thank you guys so much for your reviews! Really made my day. :)**

**I'm currently working on the new chapter. I had hoped to get it up on Friday or Saturday, but I got stuck...**

**Well, this was originally part of the new chapter but I decided to give it to you already.**

**It's a small flashback from Katherine's POV and I think it comes even better off as a single chapter.  
**

**And d****on't you worry. New Chapter is already on its way! **

**xoxo**

* * *

_*Flashback*_

_When Katherine somehow found out that Elena turned, she came back. Hiding in the shadows, watching Elena. She never expected what was going to happen next. Katherine couldn't explain how or why, but she found herself suddenly extremely intrigued by the new-born vampire. However, she kept hiding. She didn't want anyone to know she was back and certainly not that she slowly became attracted to her own Doppelgänger. Of course she tried to fight it, but in the end Katherine couldn't deny it anymore. Elena grew on her and she found herself thinking about how it would be if they were together more and more often. Whenever she saw her kissing Damon or being affectionate towards him, she felt a slight stab of jealousy. She wanted to be the one to hold and protect Elena._

_But she just couldn't find a way to approach Elena and talk to her. It drove her insane and eventually she decided it would be the best, if she tried to get rid of those feelings. It seems reasonable, since Elena would never return those feelings. She hated her, right? And Katherine was supposed to hate her, too. _

_Then she found out about the cure. And since Elena hated her, Katherine decided to give her one more reason to really hate her. She decided to get this cure just to cause trouble for her Doppelgänger. Therefore she spent her time spying on Elena and the Brothers and when they eventually left for the island she secretly followed them. When she finally showed herself to Elena in the cave, the anger and hate in Elena's eyes hurt her more than she would ever admit. After she had knocked Elena down she gently laid her against the wall. She kissed her on her forehead, whispering "I'm sorry". She stroked Elena's cheek one more time and then got up, wiping away the tears that managed to escape her eyes. She reached Bonnie and Jeremy and naturally impersonated Elena. She tried to get Jeremy to get the cure, but when Jeremy neglected the cure all of her frustrations and anger and hurt because of Elena and her feelings got the best of her and she killed the younger Gilbert, well knowing it would made Elena hate her even more. Once she had the cure in her hands, she left as fast as she could. _

_She returned to Mystic Falls and went back to her hiding place. She stood in front of the bed in her bedroom when she opened the box and saw the cure for the first time. Suddenly everything she had done hit her like a tidal wave. The usually strong Katherine Pierce sank to the floor and couldn't stop the tears from flowing anymore. She finally let everything out. Everything she kept in for too long. Once she calmed down her eyes landed on the box once again. She thought about ending it all and reached for the vial with the cure. But when the glass touched her bottom lip, she knew she couldn't do it. Even if Elena would never return her feelings, she needed to be there for her and make sure she was ok. She closed the vial and put it back into the box and then sat there for hours trying to come up with a plan to make Elena forgive her._


	4. The Plan

**AN: Just wanted to point out that I changed the summary of this story a little bit. ;)**

**Well, here's a new chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

Elena sat alone and confused on her bed and stared at the box in front of her. She had been like this since Katherine left a few hours ago. The brown-haired girl still couldn't wrap her head around the things that happened with her Doppelgänger. She just didn't know what to think of the feeling she got when Katherine touched her. But she couldn't handle this now.

She had to focus on the cure and the decision whether take it or not. But wait, there shouldn't be a decision to make, right? She wanted to become human again. It had been the whole reason of the journey to get the cure and now that she has it, she's suddenly really self-conscious of her actions.

She let out a long sigh, pushed any thought that included Katherine into the back of her mind and focused on the box in front of her again. She reached out, her fingers hesitant. There it was. The Cure. Right in front of her, ready to take, but Elena still hesitated. _Is this what Katherine meant, when she said she couldn't take it? _wondered Elena. _She said I deserve to be human again, but do _I _really _want _to be human again? _She tilted her head as she continued to stare at the box that contained the cure. _Everyone I cared about is dead. There's barely a reason to become a human again. Maybe I'm better off as a vampire. _Elena bit her lip. Could this be true? Was she really better off as a vampire? With a loud groan she let herself fall back on her bed and stared at the ceiling. "Why has everything to be so damn hard?" She asked out loud. Naturally there came no answer, since she was all alone at home.

Then the Salvatore Brothers crossed her mind. They probably would know what to do. And she should tell them that Katherine gave her the cure. _But how am I supposed to tell them that Katherine gave it to me by her very own choice? And not forgetting the fact that Katherine actually cried when she gave it to me. _To avoid any further thoughts about Katherine and her strange behavior, Elena got up and hurried to her car. She put the box on the passenger seat, started the car and made her way over to the Boarding House, before she could change her mind and stay at home.

* * *

Katherine paced her apartment she got downtown in Mystic Falls. It was nothing special. She could've compelled herself a luxurious mansion outside of Mystic Falls, but why would you want to live in such a huge house when there's no one to share it with. Katherine has been lonely for too long. She didn't want to be alone anymore, yet she hated herself for how she let her walls come down with Elena, just a couple of hours ago.

But she couldn't deny the feeling of how good it felt to have Elena in her arms. And she was definitely not able to shake the feeling she got when her and Elena locked eyes and stared into each other's eyes so intensely that Katherine almost closed the gap between them and captured Elena's lips with her own. Katherine stopped pacing and brought her fingers up to her lips. She imagined how it would feel and taste to have Elena's lips on hers.

The vampire huffed and let herself fall back on her queen-sized bed. She chewed on her lip while staring at her ceiling. She contemplated going back to Elena and talk to her. But she couldn't just go back and tell Elena that her feelings towards her seemingly out of nowhere had changed. "No, I have to show her." mumbled Katherine under her breath. "I'll show her that I care about her and I'll make her fall for me".

Determined to go through with her plan, Katherine got up and left her apartment to think of the perfect way to make Elena her girl.

**I really should start writing longer chapters and include more dialogues. Please don't hate me.**


	5. She Wasn't Lying!

Elena stood in front of the Boarding House and considered driving back home and crawl under her covers and just forget everything that happened. But then she pulled herself together and after a moment's hesitation, she knocked on the wooden door. Only five seconds later the door flew open and Damon stood in front of her. He smiled when he recognized her, but when he saw the frown on Elena's face his smile faltered.

"Elena! Hey, are you okay?" His voiced showed his concern.

"I … I'm.." Elena stuttered.

"Shh, it's okay." Damon cooed and took her in his strong arms, holding her tight. "I know this must be hard for you."

"Damon, it's…" Elena tried to interrupt, but Damon wouldn't let her. He simply hold on tighter and Elena couldn't help but notice that his embrace didn't feel as comfortable as it used to. _Katherine's hug felt so much softer_. Elena mentally shook her head to get rid of this thought. Where did that even come from? However, she couldn't stop remembering how safe and good she felt in Katherine's arms.

"I'm so sorry Elena. We were so close to the cure and then this Bitch ruined it all. We should've been more careful. How could we forget about her?" Damon just kept rambling.

"Damon, stop!" Elena had finally enough and broke free from his tight hug, which led Damon to look at her wide-eyed.

"I need to tell you guys something. Is Stefan here?"

"Yep, he is." Came promptly the answer of the younger Salvatore who casually leaned against the doorframe that led to the living room. "What's wrong?"

"Well, I'm not sure." Elena swallowed and brought her hands from behind her back to her front. The Brother's eyes widened when they saw what Elena held in her hands. The box with the cure.

"Is that…?" Stefan didn't finish his sentence as he came slowly closer. Elena just nodded.

"Elena… How did you…?" Damon wondered, his eyes locked on the small wooden box in her hands.

"Katherine.." Two pairs of eyes snapped up to her at the mention of Katherine's name. Elena ignored their piercing stares and continued. "She was… at my house and.." Before she was able to finish her sentence Stefan and Damon exploded. "SHE WAS WHAT?!" Elena winced at their sudden outburst, even though it was expectable.

"Did she hurt you?"

"What did she say?"

"What did she want for the cure?"

"Elena, what…?"

"STOP!" Elena shouted. The Salvatore's bombarded her with questions and it annoyed her to no-end. She sure as hell wasn't going to tell them what exactly occurred between her and her doppelgänger.

"You need to slow down, guys. Seriously, nothing bad has happened."

Elena walked over to the living room, Damon and Stefan close on her heels like some puppies. She sat down, facing the brothers once again. "We just…talked" Damon scoffed and Elena shot him a warning glare.

"And she actually apologized."

"Elena, are you really that naive?" Damon couldn't hold back his anger. "Do you really think that Katherine changed and that she would give you the cure without a fight or without any ulterior motives?"

"You didn't _see_ her, Damon! I _know_ that she wasn't lying!" Elena said through gritted teeth. She was on the verge of tears. She knew Damon wouldn't believe her.

"She _played _you, Elena!" Damon shouted. "You can't believe one thing that comes out of that mouth!"

"I swear, she wasn't lying, Damon!"

"How can you be so sure? Did you take the cure? Who says she didn't replaced it with werewolf venom?"

Elena froze. _Could this be true? Could Katherine have replaced the cure with werewolf venom?_ _No, Katherine was crying and she would never show herself this vulnerable to anyone._ Elena shook her head, her anger got the best of her as she stood up and invaded Damon's personal space as she screamed at him. "YOU DIDN'T SAW HER DAMON! I COULD SEE IT IN HER EYES! SHE SURE AS HELL WASN'T LYING!" Damon was taken aback by Elena's sudden outburst. He only scowled at her and then took off at vampire speed. "Really mature, Damon." Elena groaned and threw her arms up. She turned back to Stefan who looked at her with wide eyes.

"Do you believe me, Stefan?"

"Elena…I…" Stefan stuttered and avoided looking into her eyes.

"Stefan! I'm serious. She _wasn't lying_!"

Stefan looked at her helplessly and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know what to think, Elena. Honestly, that doesn't sound like Katherine."

One lone tear ran down Elena's cheek. Stefan reached out to wipe it away but Elena beat him to it as she angrily used her sleeve to remove the tear.

"Elena." Stefan said her name softly, his eyes brimming with concern.

"It's okay Stefan. I'll just leave." She made her way to the front door but Stefan grabbed her arm, holding her back.

"No, don't go. You know him, he'll come back around. It's just a lot to take in, you know."

"Yeah, I know. But let me go, Stefan." Elena tried to keep her voice firm.

"Ok. Just be careful." The younger Salvatore sighed and finally let go of her arm.

"Wait!" Elena was almost out of the door when Stefan's voice stopped her. She turned around and saw Stefan with the box in his hand. "You forgot the cure."

"You can keep it." She simply said and with that she was out of the door, leaving a very confused Stefan.

* * *

Katherine had gone to her favorite place in Mystic Falls and racked her brain to find the perfect way to make Elena her girl. She knew she couldn't just show up and ask her out. That would be a little too much. They first had to get to know each other better. Moreover she needed to show Elena that she could trust her and that she wouldn't hurt her.

Katherine sat at a hill, bathing in the sun. You could overlook Mystic Falls from there and the view was truly amazing. It was even better at night, when you could watch all of those city lights twinkle in the dark. Then it occurred to her: she would take Elena here. At night. Just for a walk and a talk. She was sure that Elena would love the view. But would she really go with her? That would require that Elena already trusts her enough to go out alone with her and Katherine honestly doubted that. With a look at her watch she saw she still had four hours left until dusk.

_Maybe I should go to her now and we could just hang out. And when it's dark enough I'll tell her, that I need to show her something special. _Katherine eagerly stood up and headed towards the small path that led back to the town.

Five minutes later she stood on the front porch of Elena's house and was actually nervous. She never been this nervous before. _What if she doesn't want to hang out? What if she doesn't want to talk?_ Katherine reached out, her finger only inches away from the bell button. She was so nervous that she didn't hear the sound of a car door closing and steps coming closer. _Maybe four hours earlier are too long. What should we do? Maybe I should come back later._ Eventually her nervousness got the best of her and she dropped her arm and turned around only to freeze on the spot.

Right there on the first step of the stairs stood Elena, surprised and curious starring back at her.


	6. Hanging Out

When she came over her first shock, Katherine shifted her weight from her left to her right foot and waved awkwardly. A small "Hi" escaped her lips. Elena slowly came closer and waved back.

"Hey." Her voice was soft and held no malice, which gave Katherine hope.

"What are you doing here?"

"Uhm… I…" Katherine was at a loss of words. Suddenly this whole plan seemed ridiculous. _Like Elena would ever fall for me, dream on_. "I'm sorry. This was a bad idea. I gotta go."

But as she pushed past her doppelgänger, Elena grabbed her wrist and held her back. Katherine reluctantly turned around, but kept her eyes down.

Elena's voice was still soft as she began to speak.

"Katherine. It's ok. Why are you here?"

Katherine's eyes were still down and she realized that Elena's hand moved from her wrist and now gently held her own. Her hand felt so soft and Katherine tried to ignore the tingling feeling in her stomach, but didn't succeed.

"Hey, you ok? C'mon, look at me." Elena began to stroke her thumb over Katherine's hand. Katherine didn't know if Elena did it subconsciously or not, but she enjoyed it.

Katherine raised her eyes and her breath hitched when her eyes finally met Elena's warm brown orbs, staring intensively at her. She couldn't help but get lost in those beautiful eyes that looked just like hers. Elena squeezed her hand and expectantly called her name.

"Katherine?"

"Uhm.. yeah, sorry. I'm fine." Katherine shook her head, trying to snap out of her trance.

"You sure?"

"Yeah yeah. I'm fine. Don't worry." A small smile played around Katherine's lips.

"So, what are you doing here?"

"Uhm… I actually… wondered if you wanted to hang out." Katherine mumbled the last part under her breath and avoided eye contact.

If Elena hadn't had her vampire hearing, she wouldn't have been able to hear her. But she did and tried to stop the smile that was forming on her lips.

"Yeah, sure. Why not?" Elena tried to hide her excitement. She surprisingly found herself wanting to spend more time with the woman who she shared her looks with. Said woman's eyes snapped up to her and held her gaze. As they kept on looking at each other, genuine smiles appeared on identical faces. What felt like an eternity later, Elena broke the silence.

"Well, come on in." And with that she moved past Katherine and tugged on her hand, which she still had in her grasp. Elena noticed how nice it felt to hold Katherine's hand.

But once they were inside, Elena faced Katherine and reluctantly let her hand go. Even though it saddened her and her own hand now felt cold and empty, she forced a smile on her face. Little did she know that Katherine felt the same.

"What do you wanna do?" She asked eagerly, which made Katherine chuckle. Katherine thought that Elena was being absolutely adorable and she just wanted to take her into her arms and never let go again.

"Well, I don't know. We could just, you know, hang out, talk, watch a movie or something like that." Katherine answered and shrugged her shoulders. "It doesn't matter. You can choose."

She was just happy that Elena agreed to hanging out with her and she didn't care what they would do, as long as she could spend some time with her.

"Hmm." Elena absently tapped with her pointer finger against her mouth and looked around the room, clearly thinking.

Katherine just stood there, studying her. Elena wore a simple white top and blue jeans shorts. Katherine's eyes crept up the full length of her legs and when they reached her breasts, which were on a good display since the top showed off a lot of cleavage, she couldn't help but stare and some naughty thoughts found their way into her mind.

Suddenly she heard someone clear their throat. "My eyes are up here."

Her eyes snapped up to met Elena's eyes challenging looking back and a smirk on those luscious lips. Katherine felt her cheeks heating up and cleared her throat awkwardly. "Sorry."

Elena just laughed at her.

"It's ok." Wait, did she just winked at her. Katherine wasn't sure, but she still felt uncomfortable so she changed the topic.

"So, did you choose?"

"Yeah, how about we order some pizza and watch some DVDs?" Elena asked as she already took the phone from the station, ready to dial.

"Sounds good. What kind of DVDs?"

Elena held the phone to her ear and pointed to a cabinet across the room. "There are some DVDs inside. Look, if you find something. Is Margarita alright?"

"Yes. I love Margarita. But I'm not that hungry though, so we can share one if you like." Katherine made her way over to the cabinet.

"Absolutely. I'm not that hungry, too." Elena laughed. As Katherine had her back towards her, she couldn't help but let her eyes roam over Katherine's body. She was totally focused on her ass so that she almost didn't hear the person on the other side of the line. She quickly adverted her eyes and placed her order.

When she put the phone back on the station she made her way over to Katherine who still looked at the DVDs.

"Found something?" Elena looked over the older vampire's shoulder. Katherine was immersed in reading the description on some DVD case and didn't hear her coming. Therefore she flinched and quickly turned around to face a laughing Elena.

"Jesus, Katherine. Didn't think you were so easy to scare." Katherine just glared at her.

"Careful Elena." Elena still giggled and then took the DVD from Katherine's hand.

"_Bad Teacher._ Nice choice, you wanna watch it?"

"Yeah, you ok with that?"

"Yep. I love that movie. It's worth watching it alone for the shoes."

Elena prepared to put the DVD in. "Pizza will be here in 30 minutes. You can sit wherever you want."

Katherine plopped down on the couch right in front of the TV while Elena went to the kitchen to get something to drink. Katherine made herself comfortable and smiled when Elena sat down next to her.

Three hours and two movies later, both doppelgängers were cuddled up on the couch with an empty pizza box in front of them. They had finished _Bad Teacher_ and Katherine had to agree with Elena on the fact that the movie was worth watching alone for the shoes. She loved every single pair Cameron Diaz wore in this movie. Afterwards Elena had put in _The Woman in Black_. When Katherine saw what kind of movie she chose and raised her eyebrow, Elena simply winked. She did it of course on purpose, so she would have an excuse to cuddle up to Katherine. "You're not scared of horror movies, are you?" She mocked Katherine playfully to which Katherine just scoffed. "Please, you sure you're not the one who will be scared?"

"Well, I have someone to protect me, right?" Elena shot back playfully, wiggling her eyebrows. Katherine looked around the room, pretending to search for someone.

"Really? Who?"

She laughed when Elena smacked her arm. "Don't worry. I'll protect you." Her voice turned soft and she looked affectionately into Elena's eyes. Elena blushed and adverted her eyes. When she timidly raised them again, her breath catches when they met Katherine's. But before she could get lost in them again she quickly composed herself and turned back to the Tv to start the second movie. Katherine felt disappointment wash over her, but she also felt a little bit happy, because to her it seemed obvious that Elena began to feel something for her, too.

During the movie Elena would always hide behind Katherine's shoulder when something scary would happen. Elena noticed that Katherine's breath always hitched when she did that. Elena's breath hitched itself when Katherine eventually put her arm around Elena's shoulder, holding her close. Elena's head rested on her chest and she put her other arm around Elena's front and clasped her hands together on her shoulder. They stayed like this for the rest of the movie and both Doppelgänger enjoyed their position more then they would admit. Elena loved the smell of Katherine and found her incredibly soft and comfortable. Stefan and Damon were always hard and too muscular. She put her arms around Katherine's waist and sighed contentedly. The older one looked down at the girl on her chest and smiled. With her attention back to the movie, she absently began to run her fingers through Elena's hair, who almost began to purr like a cat at how good that felt.

With Elena on her lap, Katherine couldn't help but think how good this turned out. She was extremely happy that Elena didn't reject her and she felt like she was on cloud nine. When Katherine looked out of the window she realized that it already began to darken outside. She remembered her plan to take Elena to her favorite place. But when she looked back at the girl on her chest she found that Elena was about to fall asleep. She wondered if she still should take her to the place or show her some other time. She watched the girl resting on her so peacefully that she decided for the latter.

When the movie ended, Elena was fast asleep on Katherine's chest. She turned off the Tv and gently picked Elena up and carried her to her bedroom. She removed Elena's shoes and carefully put her under the covers. Katherine admired the sleeping girl and before she could stop herself she leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Elena's forehead.

"Good night, Elena. Sleep tight."

With that she began to leave, but turned around one last time in the doorframe. Her lips curled up into a warm smile and then she took off at vampire speed.


	7. Surprise?

When Elena woke up the next morning she felt like something was missing. She sat up and found herself still dressed lying in her bed. _What the hell?_

Then she remembered last night and how much fun she had with Katherine. _Oh my god. Katherine! I hang out with Katherine last night. Is she still here?_

Elena figured that she must have fall asleep last night and that Katherine brought her up to her bed. She smiled at this kind action of Katherine. She swung her legs over the bed's edge and changed her clothes to new one's and continued with her daily morning routine. When she got downstairs she felt disappointed, because she secretly hoped Katherine would've stayed and maybe would be making breakfast right now, but there was no one in the kitchen. Neither could Elena sense anyone in the rest of the house. She was all alone.

Elena sighed and made her way over to the cabinet that contained her cereal. It was more of a habit than really necessary, since now blood was the only thing that would keep her alive and strong.

She was just about to pull the cereal out when the doorbell rang. She closed the cabinet and walked over to the front door and opened it, just to reveal two impatient looking vampires, better known as Damon and Stefan.

Elena rolled her eyes. "What are you two doing here?"

Damon and Stefan looked at each other dumbfounded. "Elena, you showed up at the Boarding House yesterday, saying that Katherine was here and gave you the cure and then you just left. And you also left the cure. So I guess it's quite clear why we're here." Damon tried to control his anger.

Elena sighed. She knew this scene were inevitably. "Well, come in, guys."

The three vampires walked over to the kitchen, where Elena went back to preparing her cereal. The Salvatores were silently watching her, until Elena had enough.

"Ok, you wanna talk? Then talk! Because I don't want to be stared at all day."

"Well…" Stefan cleared his throat. "What happened exactly when Katherine showed up here?"

Elena let out a humorless laugh. "I'm so not gonna tell you this."

"What the hell, Elena. Why?" She was cut off by Damon.

"_Because_ this stays between me and Katherine. It's nothing that concerns you two."

Both brothers were stunned. They didn't expect the doppelgängers to team up against them. If you could call it that. But they were determined to find out what happened between the two woman.

Stefan ran his hand through his hair and looked up at Elena.

"She didn't threaten you, right? Because if she did then…"

"No, Stefan! She didn't. She isn't this cold-hearted bitch you always make her seem like, you know?" Elena slowly got angry at the Salvatore's attitude towards Katherine. Sure, she made some mistakes in the past and yes, she killed Jeremy. But she seems like she really regrets doing it and everyone deserves a second chance, right? Especially when Katherine kept up with this nice and honestly quite adorable behavior, she had shown while hanging out with Elena last night and which made Elena's heart skip a beat. Not that she would tell Damon and Stefan any of that.

"Yes she is Elena! She's a manipulative bitch that only plays you until you're in her trap and then BAM… she daggers you and then you're DEAD!" Damon was furious now. He couldn't believe that Elena would actually trust Katherine.

"If you're only here to hate about her, then you can go. You know where the door is." She glared at him and pointed towards the front door.

"You're kicking me out?" Damon threw her an incredulous look.

"_Yes_. Behave or go." Elena pushed out through gritted teeth.

"Okay, okay. Everybody calm down. This is some serious situation. We need to work together so we can find a way to work this out." Stefan tried his best to calm Elena and Damon down but the tension in the room was thick as the two vampires continued to glare at each other.

* * *

Katherine went back to her apartment last night, smiling the whole way. She couldn't help herself. She just was so glad Elena didn't reject her and that they actually had fun together. And she couldn't forget the way Elena cuddled up to her when they watched that horror movie. Her side still tingled from the touch and she couldn't wait until she would see her again.

When she finally laid down on her bed, the only thing she could think about was Elena. Her eyes, her scent, her smile. Katherine laid there in the darkness, dumbly smiling at the ceiling. She felt happy for the very first time in a very long time.

After what felt hours she finally fell asleep. When she woke up the next morning, she wondered if Elena would be already awake. She took her phone from the nightstand and looked at the time. _10:24am._ Elena would be most definitely awake by now. _Maybe I should surprise her with some breakfast. Or is this too much?_ Katherine thought to herself while she got dressed and applied her make-up. When she was satisfied with her appearance, she took her purse from the small table next to the door, put her phone inside and left her apartment.

She walked down the streets, breathing in the fresh morning air and feeling pretty alive, which was rare since she was a vampire. She loved this feeling and even more she loved that Elena was the reason.

Katherine went to a small bakery and bought some croissants for Elena and herself. Then she made her way over to Elena's house, hoping that Elena maybe would still be asleep so that she could surprise her. She was unaware of the consequences her arrival would cause, since she didn't know that Elena was actually awake already and that Stefan and Damon would be there, too.

* * *

Back at Elena's house, the tension was still thick, but Damon eventually gave up, shaking his head in disbelief. Elena visibly relaxed when Damon broke their glaring contest.

"Thank you, Damon." She whispered.

Damon just shot her a undefinable look and nodded his head. Then he turned his head towards his brother. "So what are we gonna do now, Stefan? Just sit here and talk?"

"Maybe that would be good for the start, Damon, so yes."

Damon scoffed and sat down on one of the chairs around the table. "Ok, let's _sit _and _talk._"

Elena just shook her head at the stubborn older vampire and was about to walk around the kitchen island and joining him at the table, when she suddenly heard the front door opening.

Damon's eyes widened when he saw who was coming in. Before Elena could see for herself he already jumped up from his chair and leapt onto whoever was coming in.

"DAMON!" Elena screamed and ran after him, Stefan close on her heels.

Elena stopped dead in her tracks when she saw who Damon held captured against the door. _Katherine_. Her eyes wide in surprise and a paper bag on the floor, its content scattered all over the floor.

"Surprise?"


	8. Let's go

**AN: First of all: Thank you guys _sooo_ much for your amazing reviews. They never fail to make me smile and I'm so glad you like my story! :)**

**Now: How amazing was last night's episode?! Such a great Kelena episode! :3  
****Although I was really disappointed about this whole Katherine&Elijah thing. The only pair I want to happen right now, besides Kelena obviously, is Klaroline. Because you have to admit, they're damn cute together.  
****And I think it would've been really cool if Katherine took the unconscious Elena and went on a little 'Road Trip' with her. Maybe someone could write a FanFiction about this? ;)****  
**

**Well, I still hope that one day, Elena will finally realize to whom she really belongs. You know who I mean. ;D**

**Whatever, here's a new chapter. ****Enjoy!**

* * *

_Elena stopped dead in her tracks when she saw who Damon captured against the door. Katherine. Eyes wide in surprise and a paper bag on the floor, its content scattered all over the floor._

_"Surprise?"_

* * *

"What the fuck are _you _doing here?!" Damon tightened his grip on Katherine's throat. He couldn't believe that she would actually dare to come back and enter this house.

Katherine had been caught by surprise, but once she overcame the first shock she easily threw Damon off of her and sent him flying onto the floor with a loud thud. She glared at him and mentally scolded herself for being this stupid. _I should've known they'd be here._

"Why Damon, is this how you greet a lady?" She asked with her infamous smirk back in place.

Damon pushed himself off of the ground and with a loud growl leapt at Katherine once again, who saw him coming though and dodged him smoothly.

"DAMON! STOP!" Elena yelled at him and tried to stop him, but found herself being hold back by a pair of strong arms. She confusedly looked behind her and saw Stefan, his gaze transfixed on his brother and Katherine. "Stefan, let me go"

Stefan ignored her, eyes still on the fighting vampires in front of him. Katherine, however, was caught off guard from Elena's shout and her eyes found Elena's chocolate orbs staring right back at her. With the way she was behaving, Elena had almost thought that Katherine went back to her old bitchy ways and that this was just some kind of sick game for her, but when she saw how Katherine's eyes softened once they met hers, she knew that wasn't the case. Their eyes locked and it seemed like they were the only one's in the room.

"Hey." Katherine murmured softly.

"Hey." Elena answered equally soft.

Suddenly Katherine was ripped out of Elena's sight and thrown into a nearby wall. Damon had taken advantage of Katherine's distraction and attacked her once more.

"DAMON!" Elena screamed once again at the top of her lungs. With one powerful tug she finally managed to free herself from Stefan's grip and threw herself at Damon, who held Katherine captive against the floor.

"Let her go!" She growled menacingly, emphasizing every word.

She managed to pry Damon off of Katherine and sent him flying backwards, where he crashed into Stefan. Elena, however, couldn't care less about the Salvatores right now. Her eyes were focused only on the woman in front of her. Said woman still laid on the floor, propping herself up on her elbows and glared at the brothers. Her glare was interrupted when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. Her eyes snapped up to meet warm one's looking back and her gaze softened immediately.

"Well, that was some stormy greeting, wasn't it?" Katherine smirked at Elena.

"Oh my god, Katherine. I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" Elena helped her getting up and Katherine dusted herself off.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Elena. Don't you worry about me. It takes more than a Salvatore Brother to keep me down." She winked at Elena playfully, which caused Elena to blush and show Katherine an awkward smile. Katherine laughed at her doppelgänger which only caused Elena's blush to increase in intensity.

"Alright." Elena quickly turned around, only to be met with Stefan and Damon. Both were watching the girls cautiously and while Damon's eyes still showed off his anger, Stefan's eyes held his confusion about the whole situation and how Katherine and Elena were behaving towards each other.

"Elena? What are you doing?" Stefan's eyes wandered between her and Katherine, who stood slightly behind Elena. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, Stefan. I think it's better if you two would go now." Elena's voice was firm.

"But…" Stefan tried to reason with Elena but she cut him off.

"Just _go_!" She was getting annoyed by the brothers.

"Elena, are you out OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" Damon yelled and was shaking with anger. "This bitch is evil. You can't believe one thing that comes out of her mouth!"

Elena clenched her fist and was on the verge of punching him right into his face. Katherine sensed Elena's anger and unseen from the Salvatore's position, she put her hand on the small of Elena's back, in hope of calming her a little bit down. When Elena felt Katherine's hand on her back, she took a deep breath and actually calmed down, releasing her fists slowly. Yet, her heart began to beat faster at Katherine's simple touch.

"Please, just go. You're only making it worse." Elena pleadingly looked at Stefan.

"Elena… I.." Stefan was at a loss of words. He couldn't understand why Elena would defend and actually protect Katherine out of all people.

"Please Stefan. Trust me. I know she won't hurt me."

"You heard her, I won't hurt her. Now leave." Katherine became annoyed by the antics of the brothers. All she had wanted to do today was surprise Elena with some nice breakfast and then maybe spent the rest of the day with her, perhaps go shopping or something like that. Not fighting with overprotective Salvatore Brothers. Moreover did she decide that tonight was the night, where she would finally take Elena to her favorite spot of Mystic Falls.

But her comment only infuriated Damon even more and Stefan had to use his full strength to hold him back. Elena sighed and ran her hands through her hair.

"Katherine, please. You're not making it better either." She shot a glance at Katherine and shook her head a little bit in disappointment.

Katherine felt something drop in her stomach when she saw Elena's disappointment and casted her eyes down and mumbled an almost inaudible "Sorry".

This action however caught Stefan and Damon by surprise. Did Katherine actually just said _Sorry_ and backed down? Even Elena was surprised and turned her full gaze back to Katherine, who was avoiding any eye contact.

"Go?" Elena turned back around and tried one last time to prompt the Salvatore Brothers to leave.

Stefan dropped his shoulders and with a resigning sigh he pulled on Damon's arm.

"C'mon, Damon. We should go."

"What? No! Stefan I won't let Elena be all alone with this manipulative slut."

"Damon! Just leave!" Elena started to get angry at the older brother again.

"No! Who knows what she's planning in those evil head of hers. What is she doing here in the first place?" Damon had calmed down somewhat, but now his rage was coming back. _Who does she think she is? Did she really think she could just show up and hand over the cure and everything would be fine again? BRRR, WRONG! _

"If you really wanna know, fine. I came here to _surprise_ Elena with some breakfast, which now is laying all over the floor." Katherine pointed to the paper bag and the croissants, which were still on the hallway's floor. All three vampires stared at Katherine with wide eyes.

"What? You wanted to know, right?" Katherine shrugged and put on an innocent smile.

"Yeah right." Damon scoffed. "Like that would be your true reason. I bet those croissants are even poisoned."

"Believe what you want, Damon. But I know the truth and if you two weren't here, Elena probably would've already taste those _delicious_ croissants that I picked up on the way over here." She turned her gaze towards Elena and smiled. "Am I right, Elena?"

Elena couldn't stop the smile that was forming on her lips. "Yes, that's probably right."

Her smile made Katherine feel butterflies in her stomach, so to try and hide it she just smirked and turned back to Stefan and Damon once more, raising her eyebrow in a silent question. Damon shot Katherine one last threatening glare. Then he threw his hands in the air and yelled "This is ridiculous" before taking off at vampire speed. Stefan shot both doppelgängers an apologetic glance. "Well, I hope you know what you're doing, Elena."

Elena just nodded at him and then Stefan followed his brother out of the door.

"Well alone at last." Katherine remarked happily.

Elena turned around grinning, but then her face scrunched up into a frown. "I'm sorry about Damon. He's just… you know.. you know him."

"Hey hey Elena. It's fine." Katherine took a few steps forward and put her hands on Elena's shoulder. "Yes, I know him. So it was quite expectable for him to react like this. But I also should've known better than just coming here and assume you would be alone."

Elena sighed and looked up into identical eyes looking back at her. "Don't. You couldn't have known that. And besides, it was really cute of you to want to surprise me with breakfast."

Elena gave Katherine a warm smile, which Katherine couldn't help but answer with a smile of herself.

Suddenly Katherine realized how close they were and she abruptly pulled her hand off of Elena's shoulder and took a few steps back. "So…" Katherine trailed off, awkwardly standing there in front of Elena, who looked to the side and coughed to cover her blush.

"Yes?" Elena timidly shifted her gaze back to the beautiful woman in front of her. _Gosh, she's so beautiful. And cute when she's nervous._ Elena mentally shook her head to get rid of those thoughts. She awkwardly cleared her throat once more to stop an upcoming blush, which led Katherine to laugh at her.

"You're still hungry?"

"Actually yes." Elena laughed.

"Well then, how about I take you out to lunch somewhere? I don't think you still want to eat those croissants from the floor and it's too late for breakfast now anyways." Katherine winked at Elena.

"I'd love to." Elena answered sincerely and with a genuine smile on her lips. Katherine's lips curled up into a smile themselves and she reached out to take Elena's hand into her own. When they touched, both girls felt like a spark running through their body. Katherine smiled even more and tugged on Elena's hand.

"Let's go."


	9. Fries & Chocolate Frappé

**AN: I'm so sorry that it took so long for me to update. But after the last chapter I had some kind of writer's block and furthermore wasn't really in the mood to write. In addition I had to study for my final exam in Business Studies which I luckily survived TODAY. I still got exams this friday and next friday. #FML**

**But nevermind. Here you get an extra long chapter. It's the longest I've written yet, almost 3,000 words. I've just been adding things to it and now it came out as pretty long. :D**

**Hope you like it. Has some cute Kelena fluff. :)**

**Enjoy. xx**

* * *

After the doppelgängers left the house they walked in comfortable silence next to each other on the pavement towards the centrum of Mystic Falls.

Katherine's heart drummed against her ribcage and her hand felt all tingly since she still held Elena's hand. Elena herself could feel the butterflies growing in her stomach and she didn't manage to hide the smile on her lips.

Despite the fact that they look like twins; If someone saw them they probably would have thought they were a couple. But both didn't pay any attention to how they looked like. They just enjoyed the moment and continued their way without any interruptions.

When they finally made it to the centrum, they stood in front of the Mystic Grill, looking for a table. It was a nice and warm summer day so people could sit outside. It was also pretty full, but Elena spotted a free table that was closer to the street than to the building.

"Over there." She nudged Katherine and pointed to the table with her head. Katherine nodded and they made their way over there and both took a seat, sitting opposite each other.

"So what do you want? I'll pay." Katherine took the menu which laid on the table, casually looking through it.

"Hmm, I'll take fries and a chocolate frappé. And you really don't have to pay." Elena stared at Katherine who was still busy studying the menu.

"Fries and chocolate frappé? Interesting combination. I'll just have a cappuccino." Katherine laid the menu back on the table, fully ignoring Elena's statement.

"Katherine! You seriously don't have to pay. You've already paid for the croissants and they landed on the floor. It's my turn now." Katherine just raised her eyebrows at her doppelgänger who sat in front of her with a cute pout on her face.

"I know, but I also know that _I _was the one who asked _you_ out to lunch. So therefore I'm paying." Katherine smirked at Elena mockingly. "Deal with it."

Elena tried to scowl at the other woman but her lips curled up into a grin and she let out a small laugh.

"Fine. But next time I'm paying."

"So there will be a next time?" Katherine spoke softly as her eyes lit up and the butterflies in her stomach seemed to go wild. She found it incredibly cute how Elena blushed at her question and she subconsciously bit her lip.

"Maybe." Elena replied, trying to cover her blush by playfully smirking at Katherine.

Katherine laughed and was just about to reply when a voice interrupted her.

"Elena?"

Both girls looked up to see Matt standing there, holding a tray with glasses on it. It was obvious he was currently working here. His eyes switched between Katherine and Elena, confusion clear in his eyes and a frown on his face. Katherine rolled her eyes, annoyed at their interruption. She turned back to Elena who looked at Matt with wide eyes.

"Matt!" Elena exclaimed nervously. "Hey. How you doing?"

"I'm fine actually. Uhm.." He glanced at Katherine. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

Elena glanced at Katherine, too, who picked her nails and looked extremely annoyed. Elena sighed. She knew why Matt wanted to talk to her. It wasn't everyday that she went out to lunch with Katherine. The woman who supposedly hated her.

"Matt. Can we talk later?" She really didn't want to talk to him now. "I'm kind of busy right now."

Katherine stopped picking her nails and looked up at that. She cocked her head, giving Elena an intense stare. Elena could feel her stare, but kept her eyes on Matt, silently pleading him to leave. But Matt was having none of it.

"Elena what are you doing here? And what is Katherine doing here?" He kept his voice low, not wanting to cause a scene.

"We're about to have lunch. Can't you see it. And we would love to order by the way." Came Katherine's snarky remark. She just wanted to enjoy the moment with Elena and of course someone had to ruin it. She was on the brink of snapping his neck, but that would only worsen the situation.

Elena shot her an incredulous look to which she only answered with a shrug and an eye-roll. Sighing Elena turned back to Matt, who had shrunk back at Katherine's outburst.

"Well, she's actually right. So can we just order and I'll call you later?" Elena's big brown eyes looked pleadingly at Matt.

"Fine. What do you want?" He kept his eyes on Elena, but Katherine decided to answer again.

"We're having french fries, a chocolate frappé and a cappuccino. Please." Katherine put special emphasis on the _Please_ and gave Matt such a huge sweet smile that was literally dripping with fakeness. Her eyes however glistened dangerously and Elena had a hard time to hold in her snickering.

"Sure." Matt uttered and then hastily left the two doppelgängers alone. Once he was inside to get their order, both girls looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"Seriously Katherine? Did you have to treat him like that?" Elena playfully slapped Katherine's arm.

"What? He was annoying. And I really wanted my cappuccino." She laughed and Elena found that she loved the sound of her laughing. To be honest, Katherine looked even more beautiful when she was laughing. Elena stared at her in awe and had the sudden urge to kiss her. Her eyes landed on Katherine's luscious pink lips and she almost began to lean in when suddenly Katherine snapped her fingers into her face, effectively snapping her out of that strange trance she was in. Elena mentally shook her head to get rid of those thoughts. _What the Hell?_ _What is wrong with me?_

"Hello? Earth to Elena? What's wrong?" Elena's eyes snapped back up to meet Katherine's. She giggled nervously and slapped Katherine's hand out of her face.

"Sorry. It's nothing, I just realized something."

"Really? What is it?"

Elena contemplated for a few seconds if she should tell Katherine about her thoughts.

"Well?" Katherine already grew impatient with Elena taking her time to answer.

"Well, I realized you look really beautiful when you laugh." Elena finally answered with a soft voice and an affectionate look in her brown does. She kept the kissing thoughts to herself though.

Katherine, who didn't expect this answer, blushed faintly and was actually left speechless. No one ever said things like that to her. It made the butterflies in her stomach go even wilder. If that was even possible. She swallowed and leaned forward, taking Elena's hand in her own. She gently ran her thumb over Elena's palm before intertwining their fingers.

"You look beautiful, too." She said quietly, smiling at the blush that appeared on Elena's cheeks.

They were both absolutely content with just sitting there, holding hands and staring deeply into each other's eyes. They were so lost into each other that they didn't realize that Matt came back with their order. An awkward cough snapped them out of their staring and they quickly let go of each other.

Matt shot Elena a strange look and then quietly put the food and drinks on the table.

"Thanks Matt." Elena awkwardly smiled at him, slightly embarrassed that he witnessed such an intimate moment between her and Katherine.

He just gave her a crooked smile and with one last glance at Katherine left them once again. Elena gazed after him and then turned around with a heavy sigh. She faced Katherine who was already nipping at her cappuccino and stared curiously at her.

"You ok?" Elena smiled at the concern in Katherine's voice.

"Yeah. It's fine. _Really_." She added the last word when she saw Katherine's uncertain gaze.

Katherine said nothing, just took another sip of her cappuccino and continued to study Elena who now began to happily munch on her fries.

Elena felt the older vampire's gaze on her and decided to break the tension that settled over them.

"Want some fries?" She picked up a single fry and reached over the table, holding it in front of Katherine's mouth, teasing her with a grin on her face.

Katherine grinned and tried to take the fry into her mouth, but Elena quickly pulled back making her snap on air.

"Hey!" Katherine exclaimed and pretended to pout which made Elena grin even wider. Then the younger vampire proceeded with her teasing and held the fry back to the other woman's mouth. Said woman crossed her arms over her chest. She still had a pout on her lips and shook her head.

"No. I don't want it anymore."

"C'mon, big baby. I know you want it." Elena smirked at Katherine, poking her pouty lips with the fry. Suddenly Katherine leapt forward and took the fry into her mouth, her soft lips grazing Elena's fingers who quickly retreated her hand and let out a surprised squeal. Katherine smirkingly chewed on her fry and raised her eyebrows at Elena in a challenging matter.

"Didn't see that coming, huh?" Katherine said once she swallowed.

Elena just shook her head in disbelief, but her grin was still in place.

"You almost bit my finger off." She said accusingly.

"Well, you didn't want to give me my fry."

"So you have to bite my finger off? And technically those are my fries." Katherine raised her eyebrow at that.

"_Technically _those are my fries because I'm gonna pay for them." She retorted mockingly.

Elena just stuck her tongue out at Katherine and then dipped one of her fries into her chocolate frappé. Her doppelgänger watched her with slight disgust showing on her beautiful face.

"You're using the frappé as a dip? Seriously?"

"Yes! It tastes amazing. You need to try it." Elena replied, dipping another one into her frappé and holding it out to Katherine who leaned back in her seat and wrinkled her nose at the fry in front of her.

"No, thanks, but I prefer my fries with mayo."

"Oh come on. At least try it." Elena insisted.

"Pretty please." Elena almost whined as Katherine continued to be stubborn and vehemently shook her head.

"Nope."

"Please?"

"Nope." Katherine said again, popping the 'p'.

"I said please."

"And I said no." Katherine smirked at her doppelgänger who now sported a pout on her lips.

Elena grumbled and leaned back into her own seat. She put the fry into her own mouth and made exaggerated humming noises.

"You don't know what you're missing." She said as she put another one into her mouth. Katherine just shook her head at Elena's antics and took a gulp from her own drink. But Elena had set her mind on convincing Katherine and continued to make exaggerated humming noises of pleasure while eating fries dipped into chocolate frappé, wiggling her eyebrows at the girl opposite of her.

Finally Katherine had enough and leaned forward.

"Fine. Gimme one."

Elena smiled triumphantly and dipped one of her fries into her frappé und held it out for Katherine who looked at it doubtfully. Elena got impatient and poked Katherine's closed mouth with the fry.

"Open up."

Katherine huffed and then suddenly locked eyes with Elena as she seductively took the fry between her teeth. Elena almost moaned at the sight and was only barely able to hold it in. She was glad Katherine didn't notice her reaction and instead chewed on the food, a thoughtful look on her face as she tried to decipher the unknown taste in her mouth.

"And?" Elena teased.

"Well, it's not that bad." Katherine replied bored, but started to smirk when a disappointed look appeared on Elena's face. Elena saw her smirk and slapped her arm in an accusing manner which caused Katherine to laugh out loud.

"That was mean. Now tell me the truth."

"Ok ok. You're right. It tastes really good actually." Katherine gave in and Elena's triumphantly smile returned when she heard the sincerity in her words.

"Told you so."

"Yeah. Now give me another one." Katherine demanded rather bossily, but with a playful undertone to it.

Elena laughed and put another fry into Katherine's mouth.

Both girls hadn't had so much fun in a long time. They just enjoyed their time together and teased each other with fries. They were totally focused on each other and therefore not aware of Matt who stood at one of the windows watching them.

* * *

Matt stood at the window watching Elena and … Katherine. His break had started five minutes ago and he had been on his way outside when his gaze fell through the window and on the two doppelgängers, who sat outside obviously having fun and, dare he say it, almost looked like a couple fresh in love.

_Why the hell would she be here with Katherine?_

He couldn't understand how Elena could act so carefree and almost happy with her around. Did she forget that her doppelgänger killed Jeremy? He shook his head in disbelief and pulled out his phone. The blonde boy unlocked its screen and went to _Contacts_. When he came to a certain name his thumb hovered over it hesitantly for a few seconds, but with another glance at Elena, now feeding Katherine with fries, he pushed down firmly and his phone began to dial.

He put the phone to his ear, waiting for the person to answer his call.

"Hello?" Finally came the awaited answer. Matt took a deep breath.

"Stefan. It's Matt. You might want to come to the Grill."

"Matt! Why? Is something wrong?" Stefan asked confused.

"Well, there certainly is something wrong…" Matt trailed off.

"What is it, Matt? Everything's normal, isn't it?"

"Yeah sure. If you call Elena feeding Katherine with fries normal, then yes." He muttered sarcastically.

"Wha…" Stefan didn't finish his sentence since he was pretty much left speechless.

"See? So I thought maybe you should come here and talk to her? I mean, what the hell is she thinking, Stefan? Hanging out with Katherine like nothing happened?" Matt run his hand through his short hair in a helpless motion.

There was silence on the other side of the line.

"Stefan?"

"Yeah, still here, sorry."

"So what are we gonna do?" Matt demanded.

Stefan sighed heavily. "I'm afraid there's nothing we can do Matt."

"What? But why?" Matt cried out.

"You know, Elena kicked us out this morning because Damon attacked Katherine. I don't know what's going on between the two of them and honestly, I don't like it. But Elena somehow trusts Katherine and I think there's no chance to change her mind at the moment." Stefan explained. "We can just hope for the best."

Matt was dumbstruck at Stefan's answer. He opened and closed his mouth multiple time's, looking like a fish as he tried to retort something. But he didn't know what to say.

"Just leave them alone, Matt. It's not worth the fight. At least not now. We'll figure something out, trust me. Look, I gotta go now, but I'll call you sometime, 'kay?"

Matt just nodded to himself and then managed a quiet "Okay".

"Good. Bye then." And with that Stefan ended the call.

Matt put his phone back into his pocket and returned his gaze back to Elena and Katherine.

_Why, Elena, why?_

* * *

At the Boarding House stood a helpless Stefan staring into space after he ended the call, trying to understand what he just heard. A few seconds later, Damon came into the room.

"Who did you talk to?"

"Matt." Came Stefan's tired reply. Damon looked at him questioningly.

"What did he want?"

Stefan sighed and faced Damon who poured himself a glass of his bourbon.

"He told me that Elena is at the Grill." When Damon raised an eyebrow at him he continued. "With Katherine."

Damon's eyes grew wide. "What the hell are they doing there?"

Stefan ran his hands through his hair and made a face. "Apparently they're having lunch. Including feeding each other with fries."

The sudden sound of glass shattering startled him and he realized that Damon dropped his glass.

"They are _WHAT?!"_


	10. Angry Damon

"We have to go over there and stop this RIGHT NOW!" Damon yelled angrily.

"Don't, Damon. You're only making it worse." Stefan sighed. He could understand his older brother's anger, but he also understood that this wasn't the right way to handle things.

"Why not, Stefan? I don't know how Katherine wrapped Elena around her little finger, but I _do_ know that I'll go there now and knock some sense in those stubborn head of Elena!" Damon exclaimed, already on his way towards the front door.

He was stopped when Stefan suddenly flashed in front of him and held him back.

"Damon, don't! This is not the right way. We have to think this through." Stefan pleaded with him, but to no avail. Damon scoffed and pushed him out of his way.

"I'll show you the right way, brother."

And with that Damon sped out of the boarding house and towards the Mystic Grill. Little did he know that the doppelgängers had already left.

* * *

Elena and Katherine were on their way back to Elena's house. Unbeknown to Matt, Katherine had overheard his little conversation with Stefan and was only barely able to refrain from running into the building and snapping his stupid little head. She had felt the anger boil up in her and clenched her fist on the table, which caused Elena to recognize the sudden change in Katherine's attitude.

"What's wrong?" Elena asked worried.

"Nothing." Katherine was quick to unclench her fists and sent Elena a smile that was too bright to be real. Elena knew it and Katherine knew that she knew it.

"Are you sure?" Elena eyed her opposite suspiciously. When Katherine avoided eye contact and just muttered some incomprehensible words, her suspicion only grew. It also made her kind of angry, since they had such a good time and now it was threatened to end and she didn't know why.

"Damn it, Katherine! What's the matter?" Elena exclaimed a little bit too loudly and people started to look in their direction. Katherine, who didn't expect such a reaction, winced unintended and looked at Elena wide-eyed, who only raised her eyebrows in return.

"Fine." Katherine sighed and looked back at her cappuccino as she gave a mumbled response. "I think it's time to go."

Elena tilted her head in confusion, a action that Katherine happened to find extremely cute.

"Why? What happened?" Elena's eyes widened and her voice was now barely above a whisper. "Was it something I did?"

Katherine's head snapped up and she stared at Elena who looked like someone just kicked her puppy.

"What? No no no no. It was nothing that you did. You're amazing, really. But…" Katherine couldn't end her sentence as she got interrupted by Elena, whose eyes lit up at Katherine's words and a huge smile made its way on her face. "You think I'm amazing?"

The older woman seemed confused for a moment, but then she realized what just slipped out of her mouth and that Elena had caught on it. She felt her cheeks burn and merely nodded.

"Yeah." Came her small reply, so quiet that Elena almost didn't hear it. But she did and it made her giggle in glee, which caused Katherine to smile lovingly at her younger doppelgänger.

But then her gaze felt on the blonde boy who now served a table at the other end of the café and she remembered his conversation she overheard.

"But still we have to go now." She said sternly and beckoned for the blonde boy as she grabbed her purse.

"But you still didn't tell my why. And I didn't finish my lunch yet." Elena replied and put some of her fries into her mouth to emphasize her point.

"I know that." Came Katherine's impatient reply. "But it's better if we go now, since there's probably a pretty handsome and pretty angry dark-haired man on his way now."

Elena looked confused for a second before she caught on to the meaning. "Damon?!" She exclaimed incredulous. "Why would he be on his way?"

The blonde boy finally made his way over to them and Katherine shot him an angry glare. "Because wannabe clever boy here called Stefan to let him know we're here."

"What?!" Matt stood there uncomfortable as Elena's head snapped towards him. "Matt! Why would you do that?"

"Because you shouldn't hang out with Katherine, Elena. I called Stefan so he could come over and talk to you, but he…" He couldn't talk any further when Elena interrupted him angrily.

"This is none of your business, Matt! You can't just go and call people because you think I'm doing the wrong thing."

"But Elena.." Matt tried to argue, but got once more interrupted. This time however it was Katherine who decided to spice up things a little bit.

"Did I mention that he also told Stefan how you were feeding me with fries. Bet that information spurred on some of his darkest fantasies."

"Matt!" Elena cried out, now crimson red. How could Matt betray her like that? "Are you serious? You had no right to tell him that."

"Well, I think otherwise." Matt defended himself. Katherine just rolled her eyes, put some dollar bills onto the table and then stood up.

"C'mon, Elena. Let's go. It's getting annoying here." She said with a glare towards Matt and moved over to Elena's side.

Elena just shook her head at Matt in a disappointed manner. She shot him one last glance and then turned around and took off without even waiting for Katherine. Matt stared after her with a pained look on his face. Katherine rolled her eyes once more and sent him another deadly glare and then hastily followed her doppelgänger who managed to already put a great distance between herself and the Grill.

When she finally managed to catch up on her she could see that Elena was seething with anger. Katherine felt kind of guilty, although she knew it wasn't entirely her fault. She silently slipped her hand into Elena's and when said girl's eyes snapped up to her she just offered her a soothing smile. Elena took a deep breath, visibly relaxed and managed to gave back a small smile of her own.

They kept on walking in silence, Katherine looking ahead and Elena glancing at their intertwined fingers with a content smile. They were shortly before her house, only five minutes of walking left. She could feel her anger at Matt dissipating with every second going by and realized how safe and good she felt with Katherine, especially when holding her soft hand.

The younger vampire enjoyed the quiet moment and her smile widened when she replayed their lunch in her head. Katherine had been so cute and everything was just perfect and then Matt just had to ruin it. When her thoughts went back to what Matt did, her anger came back which caused her forehead to scrunch up in a frown and she tensed again. The vampire next to her sensed this and squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"Don't worry. Everything's fine." Elena let herself calm down by Katherine's soft voice and as she looked into those familiar brown does looking back at her, she just nodded with a smile and gently squeezed back.

* * *

In the meantime Damon had arrived at the Grill and watched out for the doppelgängers. When he couldn't find them he huffed and strode inside. He looked around and found the blonde boy behind the bar counter. He strolled over there and before Matt even had the time to recognize him he spoke up. "Where are they?"

Matt's head snapped up at the familiar voice and his eyes met with angry dark ones. He swallowed nervously and put the glass he had been cleaning on the counter next to the sink.

"They're gone."

"What? Why?" Damon stared at Matt intensely.

"Well, Katherine apparently overheard mine and Stefan's conversation, therefore they left…" He trailed off, unsure of how Damon would react.

"Damn it." Damon hit the counter with his fist causing Matt to flinch back. "You can't do anything right, can you?"

Matt knew better than to answer and just returned to cleaning the dirty glasses. Damon snorted and turned around. He exited the Grill, determined to find them.

* * *

Elena sat on her window sill in her room, staring through the window, just watching life outside. Her diary laid on her lap and she was all alone, since Katherine had left after she dropped her off at home.

Elena had tried to convince her to stay, but Katherine said that Damon probably would show up sooner or later and she had no interest in seeing nor fighting him right now. Although Elena didn't want to let her go and in fact wanted to spend the rest of the day with her, she begrudgingly had to accept Katherine's choice.

On Elena's question when she would see her again, Katherine answered only with a "Soon enough" and a wink. Then she suddenly leaned forward and kissed Elena on the cheek. The next second she was gone with a woosh and Elena blankly stared into space, trying to comprehend what just happened. She slowly brought her hand up to her cheek and touched the spot where Katherine's lips had touched her skin just seconds ago. It still tingled under her fingers.

Once she fully comprehended that Katherine just kissed her, a bright smile appeared on her face and she couldn't help but start to giggle. The thought of Katherine kissing her made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Still giggling like a child she had entered her home and went up to her room to write down into her diary everything that happened that day.

Her peaceful silence however was interrupted when someone rang the door bell. Elena turned her head and looked at her room door with furrowed brows. She didn't see anyone coming towards her house therefore it could only be a vampire who sped in front of her house. With Katherine's word in her mind, Elena made her way downstairs, mentally preparing herself for a presumably very angry Damon.

She arrived at the end of the stairs when the impatient vampire outside seemed to violate her bell button.

"Geez, I'm coming!" She yelled over the almost deafening sound. She yanked the door open and was met with the sight of an indeed very angry Damon Salvatore.


	11. Break-Ups & Embraces

**AN: Well, you're lucky guys. Two Chapters in two days. :D**

**Btw, thank you sooo much for your reviews. :) They always make me smile and mean so much to me. Keep them up! **

**Here you go with the next chapter.**

**Enjoy. xx**

* * *

_"Geez, I'm coming!" She yelled over the almost deafening sound. She yanked the door open and was met with the sight of an indeed very angry Damon Salvatore._

* * *

"What do you want?" Elena asked impatiently.

"What I want? _What I want?!"_ Damon laughed bitterly. "I want my girlfriend back. That is what I want!"

Elena froze in shock. She stared at Damon wide-eyed and wasn't able to form any coherent sentence. _Oh my god. _When Elena realized that she actually forgot that Damon was her boyfriend over her time with Katherine she put her hand in front of her mouth in shock.

"What?" Came a rather annoyed remark from Damon, which made Elena realized she actually said that "Oh my god" out loud. Her eyes locked on Damon's and took on a very guilty look.

"I'm sorry, Damon." She looked at him with such a pitiful look that Damon's anger just vanished into nothing. He took a deep breath which he slowly released as he ran his hand through his dark hair.

"I know, it's okay." His voice was suddenly soft and gently. "Come here."

He pulled her into his arms and held her in a tight embrace. Elena wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. Damon carefully turned his head and pressed his lips on the back of Elena's head. The brunette girl could feel her eyes filling with tears. When a soft sob managed to escape her lips, Damon tightened his grip.

"Shh. It's fine, Elena." Damon soothingly hummed into her ear.

But Elena knew nothing was fine. Mainly because while she should feel safe and happy to be in her boyfriend's arms, she couldn't help but feel trapped and uneasy. Elena felt like this was all wrong and someone else should be holding her, soothing her. When strong masculine hands ran down her back, it didn't take long for her to realize that it wasn't the other Salvatore brother she wished to be here, but rather a completely different person. A much more _feminine_ person.

Her breath hitched when she caught herself actually wishing it was her doppelgänger holding her, caressing her, loving her.

_But I'm not into girls, right? And especially not Katherine. That's absurd. _Elena frowned as those thoughts went through her head. _But why did it felt so right to hold her hand then? And to feed her with fries? _She squeezed her eyes shut._ Urrgh, this can't be happening right? Am I seriously falling for my own doppelgänger? _Elena let out a small sarcastic chuckle. _Narcissistic much?_

"What's wrong?" Damon's sudden exclamation startled her. She did it again. She seriously forgot about her boyfriend again. _And that because of thinking about _Katherine_ of all things. While being in _his_ arms. Yep, there's definitely something wrong with me._

"Nothing. I'm sorry." Elena sighed. She knew she wasn't fair to him. It probably would be for the best to break up with him. But she also knew that he most likely would go on a rampage when he found out that she left him for Katherine out of all people. This would be a huge blow to his ego.

She chewed on her bottom lip as she tried to think of possible ways out of this situation that didn't end up with Damon being hurt. Elena took a shaky breath when she realized that there was no way. Damon would end up being hurt one way or another.

"Elena.." Damon trailed off, unsure of what to say.

Taking another deep breath, she pulled herself together as much as she could. Then she raised her head and gently pushed him away from her. When her watery eyes met his, which were full of concern and love, staring back at her, she couldn't help but tear up again.

"Shh, it's okay, Elena. Just tell me what's bothering you." Damon cooed softly as he used his thumb to gently wipe away Elena's tears that ran down her face. It visibly pained him to see her like this. Little did he know about the pain that Elena felt as she made her decision.

Softly shaking her head she said: "I'm s-sorry, Damon."

"Don't be. Everything's fine. I'm sorry that I flipped out like that."

"It's n-not about that, D-damon." Elena stuttered through her sobs.

"Then what is it?" Damon asked patiently.

"I-I can't do this a-anymore." Elena looked him right in the eye and silently pleaded with him to understand. But Damon didn't and just returned her gaze with a confused expression on his face.

"What can't you do anymore?" He asked. His eyes widened when Elena slowly let go of his hands that were still holding hers. "Elena?"

"I'm s-sorry Damon. I j-just can't." Elena fidgeted with her hands in front of her stomach and avoided eye contact.

Damon's face grew hard as the real meaning of this suddenly dawned on him. He worked his jaw and clenched his fists.

"You mean us, right?" His voice was surprisingly calm, but Elena knew he was about to blow up.

Not being able to talk anymore, Elena merely nodded and locked her eyes on her feet. She couldn't face him, it would be too much.

Nevertheless she flinched and jumped back when Damon suddenly lunged out and hit the wall with such enormous power that his punch left a huge hole.

"WHY ELENA?" He roared and jumped forwards, gripping Elena by her shoulders in a tight and painful way. He ignored Elena's outcry of pain or that she was now shaking from crying and continued to scream at her.

"IS THIS BECAUSE OF THIS FREAKING BITCH? DID KATHERINE COMPEL YOU TO DO THIS?"

When Elena realized what he just called Katherine something inside of her snapped. She had enough of crying and took Damon off guard when she suddenly used her full strength to push him back and sent him flying through the door and out on the porch.

"DON'T YOU DARE CALL HER THAT! AND NO, SHE DIDN'T COMPEL ME. _THIS_ HAS _NOTHING_ TO DO WITH KATHERINE!" The girl tried to keep up her angry facade, since she knew this had very well to do with Katherine. Everything had to do with her.

"THEN WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? ELENA WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?" Damon snarled at her. He looked furious as he picked himself up from the floor.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO ME? WHAT FUCKING HAPPENED TO ME?! YOU AND STEFAN HAPPENED TO ME! THAT IS WHAT HAPPENED TO ME!"

This made Damon froze and he gaped at Elena like she just grew a second head.

"THIS ISN'T HOW MY LIFE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE, DAMON! ALMOST EVERYONE I CARED ABOUT IS FUCKING DEAD! AND BECAUSE YOU AND STEFAN WANTED THIS STUPID CURE FOR ME JEREMY IS NOW DEAD TOO. HE WAS ALL I HAD LEFT OF MY FAMILY! AND YOU KNOW WHAT'S THE WORST THING? I ONLY NEEDED THAT DAMN CURE BECAUSE YOU HAD TO TURN ME INTO A DAMN VAMPIRE IN THE FIRST PLACE! I NEVER WANTED TO BECOME ONE! YOU DESTROYED MY FUCKING LIFE!"

Elena couldn't hold back anymore. All her anger and grief flooded out of her and although she knew that this wasn't fair and even not entirely true, she couldn't stop yelling at Damon. Said man, grew dangerously quiet during her rant. He was shocked to see Elena like this and moreover to find out how she felt about him and his brother. Her words stung deeply. He clenched his fists as he could feel the anger boil up in him again. The older vampire was so sure that Katherine had her fingers in this. And she would pay for that.

The girl in front of him finally stopped screaming and was breathing heavily, showing him a deadly glare. However, Elena felt something drop in her stomach when she realized what she just threw at Damon's head and saw how his eyes turned cold.

"So this is what you truly feel about us? That we destroyed your life? Fine, we'll no longer bother you." He snarled at her and with a whooshing sound he was gone within a second, leaving a stunned Elena back.

* * *

Reality caught up on Elena fast and she opened her mouth into a silent cry as she realized what she just had done. _How could I lost control like this?_

The young vampire stood there, blankly staring off into space through the still open door. She barely recognized that the sun was about to set and it was gradually becoming darker outside.

Tears were openly flooding down her face and once she fully comprehended what happened she broke down and began to cry uncontrollably.

Her tears blurred her view and she was shaking very badly when suddenly two strong arms wrapped around her. When Elena's nose was met with the scent of a soft perfume she immediately knew who held her. She quickly wrapped her arms around the other person's waist and hid her face in the crook of their neck. She continued to cry, but slowly regained her composure as feminine hands caressed her back in a soothing manner.

Katherine said nothing as she held Elena in her arms. She knew the girl would talk to her when she was ready and now just needed someone to hold her.

She had been on her way to Elena's house since she wanted to surprise her and take her to the hill tonight. When she was only a few meters away she had heard Elena's cries and sped towards her house, only to find the younger doppelgänger kneeing in front of a open front door, bawling her eyes out. The older brunette had wasted no time to get down and wrapping her arms around the younger girl.

They sat like that for a while until Katherine got really uncomfortable on her knees and let herself fall back on her butt, pulling Elena on her lap. Elena still kept her face hidden in Katherine's neck as she wrapped her arms around her neck as her legs went around her waist now, finding comfort in Katherine's scent and embrace.

The other woman tightened her grip and cooed sweet nothings into Elena's ear. Elena's heart raced as her soft breath caresses her skin and even did a somersault when Katherine suddenly placed a gentle kiss on her shoulder.

She nuzzled her face deeper into Katherine's neck, taking in a deep and shaky breath. She couldn't get enough of Katherine's sweet scent. Once she was sure she wouldn't start crying again she slowly began to lean back so she could look her doppelgänger into her eyes.

When their eyes met her breath hitched. Katherine's eyes were brimming with unexpected emotion. Elena could make out concern, but also affection and even love. Both doppelgänger didn't speak. They just stared deeply into each other's eyes, getting more and more lost by every passing second.

Katherine's heart was racing as fast as Elena's by now and her breathing was uneven. Her hands rested at Elena's hips and she was drawing small circles with her thumbs.

Elena enjoyed the feeling of Katherine's hands on her hips and could feel goosebumps forming underneath her shirt. Her eyes studied every detail of Katherine's face. Her beautiful brown does, her neatly trimmed eyebrows, her perfect nose. Then her eyes dropped to her luscious pink lips. She subconsciously licked her own and when she looked back up she realized that Katherine had taken notice of her action. Her eyes gleamed and she had a sweet smile on her lips. Yet she said nothing. Instead she bit her lip as her own eyes also glanced at Elena's lips, which Elena found to be extremely cute.

Elena was so entranced in the moment that she barely recognized how she slowly began to lean in, her eyes never leaving Katherine's.

**Cliffhanger. muwahaha**


	12. Racing Hearts & Sparkling Lights

**AN: I'm really mean.**** muwahaha**

* * *

_Elena was so entranced in the moment that she barely recognized how she slowly began to lean in, her eyes never leaving Katherine's._

* * *

Time seemed to be frozen. Katherine was totally focused on Elena's eyes. Her heart was drumming against her ribcage and the butterflies in the pit of her stomach were going wild. She couldn't believe that Elena was actually leaning in to hopefully kiss her. Her breath caught in her throat and she parted her lips in anticipation.

When their lips were only mere inches from each other, both doppelgängers slowly started to close their eyes. When Katherine could feel Elena's hot breath on her lips she almost took control and closed the gap between them. But she didn't want to push Elena, instead wanted to give her the time she needed. A gasp escaped her opened lips when the younger girl's lips brushed against hers so lightly that she almost missed their touch.

Just as Elena was about to fully push her lips onto Katherine's, her phone suddenly went off.

The magical moment between the girls was broken and they jumped back from each other. Elena hastily got up from Katherine's lap, muttering something incomprehensible under her breath.

The other girl made a grimace and tried to regain her composure as she couldn't help but let disappointment fill her body. She held her head down as she stood up, in an attempt to cover the blush on her cheeks.

Katherine scolded herself mentally. _I just should've took control and kissed her. But no, little Elena makes me go soft and wanting to not push her. Urrghh. Dammnit._

Elena didn't notice Katherine's inner rant as she was busy with her own while searching her still ringing phone in the depth of her bag. Besides she used her search to hide her also burning cheeks. _Oh my fucking god! I almost kissed Katherine! What do I do now?! This is so awkward. But wait, she didn't push me back… She rather seemed like she wanted me to kiss her. Could Katherine feel something for me? But that's absurd, right? Just like how it's absurd that I'm falling for her. Oh dear Lord, what have I gotten myself into?_

Elena's inner rant about her current situation was interrupted when she finally found her phone. She let out a loud sigh of annoyance as she looked at the caller's ID. _Stefan._ _Great, perfect timing. _

Elena glanced at Katherine from the corner of her eye. The other girl stood there awkwardly, wringing her hands behind her back and looked at anything in the room but Elena.

She braced herself for the coming questions as she accepted the call. Elena knew she should've sent Stefan's call to Mailbox and instead talk to Katherine, but she wasn't ready to face her yet, so she gladly accepted any form of distraction.

"What?" She snapped angrily into the phone.

"Uhm.. Elena?" Came Stefan's uncertain answer.

"Yes?" She snapped again. The Salvatore Brother's were really good at making her angry at the moment.

Katherine, who was just a few feet from her, rolled her eyes when she heard Stefan's voice at the other side of the line. Of course it would be him to interrupt their special moment. _Well done Stefan._ She thought sarcastically. The other doppelgänger watched as Elena continued to snap at Stefan which made her lips curve into a small smile. At least she wasn't so fond of the brother's anymore.

But as she continued to watch Elena, she wondered if it was better to go. Elena obviously wasn't ready to talk to her about what almost happened, otherwise she hadn't answered the phone. Katherine took her bottom lip between her teeth as she contemplated what to do. She knew she already made her decision when she realized that she was slowly stepping back towards the door, her eyes never leaving the younger girl in front of her, who was oblivious to her backing off.

When she made it to the door, she paused with one last glance towards Elena who was still on the phone with Stefan.

She let out another disappointed sigh and then took off with vampire speed. She needed to get out of there.

/

Several minutes later Elena finally shot Katherine another glance. Or rather where she thought Katherine would be. When her eyes were met with nothing but the empty hallway her head snapped up and she looked around with wide eyes.

With the phone still pressed to her ear she took a couple of steps forward and looked into the living room. Nothing. She went back and took also a look into the kitchen. Still nothing.

Katherine had left. And she was too busy arguing with Stefan to notice her leaving.

"Fuck." Elena said out loud, cutting Stefan off, who was still talking her ear off.

"What?" Stefan replied perplexed.

"I gotta go." Elena hastily answered and hang up, not even bothering with Stefan's reaction.

She put the phone back on the table and then called out for Katherine. No answer.

"Fuck fuck fuck." _I totally fucked up, didn't I?_

Elena smacked herself mentally for being so inconsiderate towards her doppelgänger. She looked around helplessly. She knew she had to talk to her but she had no idea where to find her. The younger vampire didn't even know where she lived.

Nevertheless she grabbed her keys and crossed the hallway to the still open front door. She left her phone on purpose, since she didn't want to risk another interruption. If she ever found Katherine. It's Katherine after all. If she doesn't want to be found, there was a slim possibility to actually find her.

She peeked out into the darkness of the night. Nothing but Crickets could be heard.

Elena took another step and that was when it hit her. Katherine's scent was still in the air. It slowly crept up her nose and she instantly knew what to do. With determination she closed the door behind her and followed Katherine's scent into the night.

/

The other doppelgänger had fled to her all-time favorite spot in Mystic Fall. The hill. _Her _hill. She was the only one who ever came up here and therefore she didn't have to share the amazing view with anyone. The only one she wanted to share it with was Elena. But her chance to share it with her was probably over now.

She blankly stared at the city in front of her without really recognizing the beautiful twinkling lights. Her mind was elsewhere as tears ran down her face and her fingers continued to pluck at the grass and letting it fall back down.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she even didn't realize that someone sat down next to her.

"It's beautiful here." Suddenly came a quiet remark from the person next to her, which startled her.

She quickly turned her head and her breath caught in her throat when she was met with the sight of Elena sitting next to her, staring at the city below them with fascination.

The lights reflected in her eyes and made them appear even more beautiful. While Elena stared at the city, her doppelgänger continued to wordlessly stare at her.

After what felt like an eternity for the older brunette, Elena slowly turned her head and her sparkling brown does met with Katherine's. No words were spoken as they continued to look deeply into each other's eyes, Katherine's still brimming with tears which caused Elena to tear up, too.

Slowly Elena reached out and gently wiped Katherine's tears away, letting her right hand linger on her cheeks.

"I'm sorry." Her voice was thick with emotion.

"It's fine." Katherine replied quietly. She was just glad that Elena was here. She never thought she would find her here, even less search for her.

"No, it's not. I shouldn't have answered the phone and ignore you. I'm sorry." Her voice cracked slightly.

Katherine sighed and gently took Elena's hand from her face and held it in her lap.

"It's fine, Elena, really. I understand that the situation overwhelmed you. And I'm just glad you're here now." She let out a small chuckle. "You know, I actually came over to take you here in the first place."

Elena's lips curved up into a smile. "Really?"

Katherine just nodded, chewing on her bottom lip, nervous about her doppelgänger's reaction, who turned her head to look at Mystic Falls.

"Well, it's beautiful up here. Thank you, for showing me." She again faced Katherine and showed her a smile that made Katherine's heart skip a beat.

"You're welcome. I'm glad you like it." Katherine replied softly.

Silence fell over them as they both continued to look over the city, Katherine still holding Elena's hand and absently playing with her fingers, making it feel all tingly.

Elena bit her lip as she contemplated if she should ask the question that was flowing through her mind. She glanced at the woman next to her and her beauty took her breath away. Her silky hair cascaded down her shoulders in soft waves and her eyes shone because of the lights being reflected in them. Once she regained her composure she opened her mouth.

"Did you ever… bring someone else up here?" She hesitantly asked, not knowing whether she wanted to know or not.

Katherine shot her a short glance but otherwise kept her head towards the lights.

"No. Never."

Elena nodded to herself and looked at their intertwined hands.

"Never had one I wanted to share it with." Katherine squeezed her hand and Elena looked up to meet Katherine's eyes intensively looking back at her.

Her breath hitched and her heart raced, since Katherine's answer made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside and moreover special in some way.

When her eyes dropped to her doppelgänger's lips she knew she couldn't hold back anymore. The moment was perfect. Before she could change her mind she leaned forward, using her left hand to steady herself, while closing her eyes and pressed her lips on Katherine's in a soft kiss.

Katherine's eyes first widened, then slowly closed. She could see sparks behind her lids and her heart seemed to burst out of her chest. Only one word went through her head. _Finally._

Although the chaste kiss was rather short, because Elena pulled away after a few seconds, both doppelgänger's were kinda out of breath.

Only mere inches separating them, they gazed into each other's eyes and shared a soft giggle before Katherine twisted her body and let go of Elena's hand to put a hand behind her neck and dive in again, wanting more of those delicious lips.

Elena was overwhelmed with feelings. Butterflies went crazy in her stomach and her arm that steadied herself on the ground became weak. Kissing Katherine was different than any kiss she ever shared with someone. But it was perfect. Her soft lips moved in synch with her's and tasted heavenly.

The second kiss lasted longer as their first one, as it deepened when Katherine's tongue touched Elena's bottom lip, asking for permission.

Elena willingly opened her mouth and moaned at the sensation of Katherine's tongue gently dominating hers. While Katherine's left hand held her neck, she held onto Katherine's hip and slowly moved her thumb in circles, which caused Katherine to moan into her mouth. Elena smiled at this and although they're both vampires and could go on for hours without needing to breath, she slowly pulled away to fill her lungs with fresh air.

They just grinned at each other lovingly, no words were needed. Katherine pulled the younger girl closer to her and put an arm around her shoulder, holding her tight. Elena sighed contently and cuddled closer to the warm and soft body holding her.

Katherine planted a soft kiss on Elena's temple, as they both continued to sit on the hill, watching the sparkling lights, completely happy with the world at the moment.

* * *

******Well, not _that _mean.. ;D**

******Sorry for the wait, I had the first part finished relatively fast, but the second part took me longer since I wanted it to be perfect.**

******I hope I managed that and you like it. :)**

******p.s I know that as vampires they don't have a heartbeat, but I wanna have them racing hearts and 'if they had a heart it would' sounds just weird...**


	13. The Morning After

**AN: Omfg,**** this story reached 10,500+ views. THANK YOU SO MUCH GUYS !**

**And as promised, I would update once I reach 80 reviews. So here's the next chapter!**

**I didn't split it up into two as usually planned so it's the longest so far.**

**Hope you like it and keep the reviews coming! ****They never fail to make me smile. :)**

* * *

Several sun's rays made their way through red curtains and fell onto a queen-sized bed that contained two sleeping bodies. Legs were tangled under the sheets and long brown hair mixed on the pillows. The older girl spooned the younger one and held her tightly against her chest. They slept peacefully in each other's embrace and both faces sported an identical content smile.

One of the sun's rays reached the younger girl's face, causing her to stir and slowly opening her eyes. Elena squeezed her eyes back shut when the sunbeams on her face blinded her. She groaned and rubbed her eyes with her right hand. Once she got used to the light, she blinked tiredly and her eyes fell on a black leather jacket that hung over her desk chair. Her forehead scrunched up in a frown. That jacket was definitely not hers.

That was when she realized the warm body pressed against her back and the arm that was possessively slung around her waist, keeping her in place.

Her heart picked up a pace as she carefully turned in the embrace, trying to not disturb the sleeping person next to her, whose face was nuzzled into her neck.

She finally managed to turn around without waking up the other girl and her heart skipped a beat when she was met with the sight of a peacefully sleeping Katherine Pierce, their faces only inches apart.

Suddenly the events from last night came rushing back to her and she couldn't help but grin happily, as she recalled how they kissed and how soft Katherine's lips had felt on hers. How they watched the sparkling lights of Mystic Falls while holding each other. How they had shared a few more sweet kisses and then after a while went back to Elena's house. How Katherine had been ready to leave, but Elena didn't want her to go and how she had convinced her to stay the night, so they ended up in her bed talking and cuddling until they finally fell asleep.

Her eyes now gently traced the contours of her face. Elena couldn't believe that she actually kissed her doppelgänger… and liked it. Moreover that Katherine had feelings for her and that she found herself falling for her, too.

Watching Katherine sleep with twitching eyelids and a content smile on her face, Elena could feel herself falling even deeper in love with her former enemy. It was quite ironic, actually. Elena quietly chuckled at the thought that Stefan and Damon were constantly fighting over her and now she had fallen for their ex-girlfriend. Who looked exactly like her. However, a frown appeared on her face when she mused over their reactions to this unexpected turn of events. Damon probably would throw a even bigger tantrum like he had when she kicked him out of the house or broke up with him. However, she had no clue of how Stefan would react. But as she continued to lovingly gaze at her doppelgänger, it all seemed worth it. They would make it through it, no matter what.

"You're staring." Katherine suddenly mumbled sleepily, eyes still closed.

"I'm gazing." Elena replied, her lips curving up into a smile.

"It's creepy." Katherine answered still without opening her eyes.

"It's romantic." Elena retorted which caused Katherine to finally open her eyes and glance at her, before closing her eyes again and rolling on her back.

Elena chuckled at her antics and let out a playful fake-offended "Hey!", when Katherine put a pillow over her face, hiding her smirk. When she reached over to remove the pillow, Katherine suddenly came up and pressed her lips to Elena's while rolling them over so that she was on top of her.

Although she was caught off guard, Elena wasted no time to kiss her back, her hands gently going down Katherine's back until they came to a stop on her waist.

Katherine pulled back from Elena's lips, only to trail a path of soft kisses down her jaw to her neck and lightly sucked on Elena's pulse point, which caused the other doppelgänger to moan softly. Katherine smirked and finally raised herself to look down at the brunette beneath her, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Good morning."

Elena just laughed and grabbed Katherine's neck, pulling her into another kiss which started off slow and gentle, but pretty quick turned into a heavy make-out session. Their tongue's fight for dominance was eventually won by Katherine, who slipped her left hand up Elena's oversized T-shirt, tenderly caressing her side. Elena moaned at the sensation of Katherine's soft slender fingers stroking her skin and arched her back towards her doppelgänger. Said doppelgänger smirked against Elena's lips and then kissed her way up to Elena's ear, her lips grazing the outer shell, causing a shiver to run down Elena's spine.

"Time to get up, babe." Katherine whispered.

Within seconds Katherine was up and made her way over to the bathroom, also only in a oversized shirt, which she had borrowed from the younger vampire.

Elena fell back into her pillows, groaning. "Tease."

Katherine just chuckled and threw her a smirk over the shoulder, then she disappeared into the bathroom, leaving a frustrated Elena laying on her bed.

The frustrated girl still couldn't wrap her head around the events that had happened. But when she heard the shower turning on, she was reminded of the girl that currently occupied her bathroom and a goofy grin was forming on her face. She was glad they did happened after all. Katherine was showing her a completely new side of her and she loved it. Elena giggled in glee as she got up from her bed and went downstairs, still only wearing the oversized shirt she had used to sleep in.

/

Elena was standing in front of the kitchen counter, preparing coffee for herself and her doppelgänger, when suddenly two slender arms wrapped around her waist from behind and a warm body pressed itself against her back. When soft lips planted feather-light kisses on her neck, she hummed with pleasure and leaned her head against Katherine's shoulder. She closed her eyes when she felt Katherine's hand wandering up her thigh and sliding under her shirt, gently caressing the smooth skin of her stomach.

But when her hands started to get higher, Elena bit her lip while putting her own hands over Katherine's, stopping them through her shirt.

"Wait."

Katherine immediately stopped her movements and froze behind Elena. _Have I done something wrong? Oh god, I'm too fast, aren't I? _Suddenly unsure of herself, she removed her hands from Elena's body and took a step back.

"I'm sorry." She said, casting her eyes downwards. She didn't expect soft fingers to cup her chin and make her raise her head, so she lcooked at her doppelgänger with wide eyes and let out a surprised gasp as Elena leaned in and gave her a quick peck on her lips.

"Don't be. I just… want to take it slow, you know?" Elena hesitantly replied, taking a hold of Katherine's hands. Taking in the sight of the girl in front of her she suddenly felt insecure of herself. Katherine looked so beautiful, with her damp curly hair framing her perfect face and her wide eyes sparkling in the light coming in through the window behind them.

Katherine smiled at the brunette who shyly smiled back and reassuringly squeezed her hands.

"I understand. I'm sorry if I'm too fast. Just tell me, but I'm just…" She trailed off.

"I know. Me too." Elena answered like she knew exactly what Katherine was talking about. "But everything's so new and I just want to enjoy it and not rush things."

Katherine grinned and silenced Elena's rambling with a gentle kiss to her lips. When she pulled back, Elena sighed with contentment.

"You're cute." Katherine chuckled at her, causing Elena to blush.

"And you're beautiful." Elena retorted sheepishly. Now it was Katherine's turn to blush.

The younger vampire snickered and gave her another peck on the lips. Katherine of course tried to deepen it, but Elena pulled away and turned back around to look after the coffee.

"You want anything for breakfast?"

"Hmm. What do you have?" Katherine said while hopping onto the kitchen island, her naked legs dangling from the counter. She watched as Elena searched through the cabinets and the fridge.

"Well, seems like all I got is some cereal and coffee, since I didn't make it to the supermarket yet."

"Not that you really need to." Katherine remarked.

Elena threw her a glare, but it softened once she realized that Katherine was actually right.

"I know. Probably just some old human habit." She sighed and looked around her kitchen, once filled with fresh food and laughter, now only expired food and spider webs filled the cupboards and the fridge contained some strange looking apple. At least she thought it was an apple.

"Hey, come here." Katherine stretched her arms out and used her legs to pull the melancholic girl into her arms. Said girl wrapped her arms around Katherine's waist and nuzzled her face into her neck, inhaling her sweet scent that was so undoubtedly Katherine.

"It's perfectly fine to have some old human habits. Including food in your kitchen. How about we get dressed and then go and do some grocery shopping?" Katherine suggested as she stroked Elena's back.

"Katherine Pierce doing grocery shopping?" Elena chuckled. "Never thought I would get to see that."

"Well, there are a lot of things that you would never thought of me doing them." Katherine smirked.

"Oh, for example falling for your doppelgänger?" Elena mocked with a cheeky smile.

"For example falling for my doppelgänger." Katherine confirmed affectionately and pulled Elena into a passionate kiss. Her legs were wrapped around Elena's waist and her arms around her neck, keeping her close. When they finally pulled away, they were both kind of out of breath.

"So, what about grocery shopping?" Katherine whispered against Elena's lips.

"Alright, but first some coffee!" Elena exclaimed and untangled herself from Katherine's legs.

She filled two cups with the hot liquid and handed one to the girl on the counter, who used the chance to wrap her legs again around Elena.

"Thank you." Katherine took a sip.

"You're welcome."

"You know, you should spike this with some blood." Katherine smirked at her.

"Seriously?" Elena shook her head at the brunette.

"Would just make it taste even better."

"Yeah, I bet." Elena replied sarcastically while Katherine showed off an innocent smile.

"Don't judge something you haven't tried yet." Katherine chastised playfully.

"Let me guess, you spike your coffee with blood?"

"From time to time, yeah." Katherine replied nonchalantly, taking another sip.

"You're unbelievable." Elena chuckled, leading Katherine to just wink at her.

/

After they finished their coffee, they both went back to Elena's room to get dressed. Katherine in the same black skinny jeans and the dark blue top from the night before and Elena in simple blue jeans with a white button up shirt.

While Katherine applied her make-up, fully occupying Elena's bathroom for herself, the other doppelgänger tucked on her Converse and then proceeded to put her phone, keys and some money into her purse.

When Katherine finally emerged from the bathroom to put on her heels, Elena quickly rushed in and applied some mascara and brushed her hair.

Katherine sat on her bed, playing with her phone, when she came back out.

"Ready?"

Katherine looked up, her eyes running up and down her body, making Elena blush. She placed her phone back into her purse and then stood up to strut over to Elena, giving her a sweet peck on the lips.

"Yep. Let's go."

She took Elena's hand and after Elena checked that she had everything, both doppelgängers descended the stairs and left the house, making their way over to Elena's car.

/

Katherine sat in the passenger seat, watching Elena driving with this cute look of concentration on her face. The older Vampire just couldn't get enough of her. Ever since they kissed on the hill the butterflies in her stomach didn't seem to cease and her heart skipped every time they shared another kiss.

Katherine hadn't felt so happy in a really long time. And she couldn't believe that is was only a year ago, that if someone had told her it would be because of her doppelgänger, she would've laughed at them before ripping their heart out of their chest.

But now everything felt so right and she couldn't help the grin that appeared on her face when she looked at the girl next to her and realized that she actually returned her feelings.

Elena was hers.

At least for the moment.

But would it last?

Or would she return to the Salvatore's in the end?

Katherine's smile faltered a little bit. _Can she look behind my past? Or will she run once she realizes I'm not Miss goody two-shoes?_

She didn't realize she stared at Elena and that they already reached the supermarket, until Elena faced her and saw the doubtful look on Katherine's face.

"What's wrong?" Elena asked slightly concerned with Katherine's sudden change of attitude.

"Huh?" Katherine snapped out of her thoughts. "Oh, it's nothing."

But when she turned to open the door and get out, she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

"No it's not. Talk to me, Katherine." Elena pleaded.

Katherine reluctantly sat back in her seat. She kept her eyes on her hands in her lap as she played with the hem of her top.

"What are we?" She asked nervously.

Elena's eyes widened in surprise. She didn't expect Katherine to ask something like that and even be nervous about it. But it was so cute and made Elena smile at her doppelgänger. And although neither did she know what they were, she enjoyed being close to Katherine and wanted to try and see where things would go for them.

With a deep sigh she took Katherine's hands in her own and gently rubbed her thumb over her palm.

"Hey, look at me." Elena said softly, causing Katherine to carefully peer up at her.

"I don't know what _this_ is or what _we_ are. But I _do_ know that I enjoy it and I want to give it a try and figure things out, y'know?"

A small smile crept onto Katherine's features. Yes, she did know and she wanted to figure things out, too.

"So what do you say? You're in?" Elena mocked playfully, smiling at Katherine.

"Yes, I'm in." Katherine laughed. "And I'm so glad you're too."

"Good. Now then. Let's go do some grocery shopping." Elena laughed, filled with happy enthusiasm.

"Ok, but first.." Katherine trailed off as she leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on Elena's lips.

They smiled at each other when they parted and then got out of the car, walking towards the entry hand in hand.

Katherine loved how perfectly their hands fit together. She could hold Elena's hand all day. It was warm and soft and sent a tingly feeling from her hand, up her arm and through her whole body. She just loved it and didn't think she would ever get tired of it.

/

They got a shopping cart and made their way through the shop, the cart slowly but steadily filling with lots of delicious food. They were fooling around and laughing and just having fun with each other. Along with some kisses everyone in the store thought they were some happy lesbian couple. Although they got some weird looks because they looked like twins. But they just ignored them and enjoyed their time together.

Naturally it didn't last long when suddenly a high pitch voiced yelled Elena's name through the store. The doppelgängers just had shared another quick kiss and now jumped back from each other, looking around for the source of the scream.

Caroline Forbes stood at the end of the aisle where they were in, giving them an incredulous look. In any other situation it would've been funny how her eyes were bugging out, but now it just made them feel uncomfortable.

Elena stared at her blonde friend and gulped.

"Hey Caroline." She said warily.

"What the hell, Elena? What are you doing?" She slowly came closer.

"Well, the same as you obviously. We're here to do some grocery shopping." Came the sarcastic remark from Katherine, who stood next to Elena and had her arms crossed over her chest.

Caroline's eyes snapped towards Katherine. Squinting her eyes she stared at the vampire menacingly.

"Not funny." She pushed out between gritted teeth.

"Oh, I think otherwise." Katherine smirked.

"What is _she_ doing here anyways? And why are you _kissing_ her?" Caroline ignored Katherine's comment and shifted her eyes back to Elena, who blushed and avoided eye contact.

"Well… it's a long story.." Elena muttered under her breath. This was not how she wanted to bring the news to her friends. She first wanted to figure things out, and then, when she was sure about her feelings for Katherine and was ready, then she would've told her friends. Now she scolded herself mentally for being so stupid to be in public with Katherine and even kissing her.

Katherine sensed Elena's discomfort and felt a pang in her chest. Was Elena embarrassed to be with her? It nagged at her self-confidence, but she pushed it back to deal with it later. Now she had to prevent a scene in the grocery store.

"And it's definitely not a story to be told in a grocery store. How about we all finish our shopping and then you two can meet later?" Her voice was quiet and hushed. She smiled when Elena shot her a thankful look.

"She's right, Care. I'll call you later or you can come to the house, 'kay?"

Caroline didn't look convinced. However, she was surprised at Katherine's attitude and her behavior towards Elena. She shot them a suspicious look. _What the hell is going on between them?_

"But Elena.." Caroline started, but got interrupted by Katherine who slowly became annoyed of the blonde girl.

"Didn't you listen? She'll call you later. Just go." Her voice was now stern.

"Who are you to tell me what to do, huh?" Caroline snapped back, causing Katherine to take a step forward in a threatening manner.

"One more word and I'll show you." Her voice was now thick with anger and not quite low anymore.

Caroline knew that Katherine would have no problem with hurting her, even while being in such a public place like the store they were in, but she didn't back down and hid her fear behind angry eyes.

"Hey hey hey!" Elena pulled Katherine back by her arm. "Stop!"

Katherine reluctantly let herself being pulled back, but kept her scowl on Caroline who scowled right back at her.

Elena shot Caroline an incredulous look before she focused on calming down Katherine. She rubbed her right hand down Katherine's arm and used her other hand to turn her face towards her.

"Calm down, ok? We don't want to cause a scene, got it?"

"I'm perfectly calm! Don't tell it to me, tell it to her!" Katherine exclaimed and pointed at Caroline.

"Yeah sure. You're the one who threatened me!" Caroline remarked.

"Caroline! Shut up!" Elena yelled before Katherine had time to retort something, shocking both Caroline and Katherine. "You don't have to provoke her, do you?"

Katherine's surprise turned into a smirk and she raised her eyebrows at Caroline challengingly. Caroline's mouth snapped shut and she stared at Elena wide-eyed. Once she regained her composure she snatched Elena's wrist with her hand and began to pull her away from Katherine.

"We need to talk! Right now!" Her voice didn't allow any protests.

Katherine took a step forward and had already opened her mouth to say something, when Elena shot her a look over her shoulder while being pulled away by the blonde vampire.

"Just a talk. Wait here."

And the next second she and Caroline disappeared around the corner of a shelf filled with canned soup, leaving behind a frustrated Katherine, who leaned against the shopping cart with her arms crossed and a pout on her face. But then a thought entered her mind and she strained her ears, trying to listen in to their conversation that happened only two aisles away from her spot.

/

Caroline had dragged Elena into an aisle where the shelves were filled with all kinds of pasta. Once she stopped walking, she quickly turned around and faced the brunette, who she just caught kissing her doppelgänger enemy.

"Now, would you please tell me what's going on? Because I'm freaking out over here. Not only haven't I heard from you since you came back from that island where Katherine _killed_ your brother, but now I caught you with the very same kissing in a _fucking_ grocery store." It was obvious that Caroline was more than freaking out. Her face was flushed from her outburst as she ranted on and her swearing was never a good sign.

Elena sighed and ran her hand through her hair. She had no idea how to handle this situation.

"Are you okay? I mean, did she compel you or something like that?" Caroline continued. Katherine, who stood two aisles away, rolled her eyes. Elena was a vampire, did Blondie forget that?

Elena apparently didn't. "No, I'm a vampire, I can't be compelled, remember?"

"But that makes no sense. Did she threaten you?" Caroline went on. Katherine let out a dry chuckle. Why would she threaten Elena into kissing her? Blondie really made no sense today.

Even Elena was slowly becoming annoyed by Caroline's investigations.

"No! Why would she even do that? Come on, be serious." Elena replied annoyed.

"Then why did you _KISS _her?" Caroline yelled exasperated. Katherine held her breath, she was curious what Elena would answer to that. But Elena stayed silent, casting her eyes downwards in an attempt to hide her blush.

"Elena" Caroline snapped. "_WHY_ did you kiss her?"

"Because I have feelings for her!" Elena suddenly blurted out, not only shocking herself, but also the two other vampires in the store. While one couldn't help but let a goofy grin spread on their face and had butterflies going wild in their stomach from Elena's words, the other just stood there dumbfounded.

"Y-you.. what?" Caroline stuttered surprised. That was certainly not the answer she expected.

"I.. I might have feelings for her, Care." Elena mumbled, again avoiding eye contact. It was weird, talking about it. Admitting it.

"But… but that's insane, Elena, insane!"

"I know. But I can't help it, she just.." Elena trailed off.

"She's gotten under your skin." Caroline realized. Elena looked up at her and just nodded. Katherine just smiled to herself and mentally patted herself on her shoulder.

"Wow. I…but…I…How?" Caroline stammered stunned.

"Well, everything started with her coming to my house and giving me the cure while apologizing." Elena started the story. Her doppelgänger was glad that she left out the little detail about her crying.

"She gave you the cure? How come no one told me about it? Do Stefan and Damon know about it?"

"Caroline! Let me finish without any interruptions. Questions at the end, 'kay?"

"Fine. Go on." Caroline replied bitterly.

"Good. And yes, they do know. I thought they would've told you and Bonnie by now. I mean, I gave it to them.."

Caroline was about to open her mouth again, but a stern look from Elena made her close it again.

"So, when I came back from them, Katherine stood on the porch. And it was kinda cute, because she didn't hear me and just stood there with her finger inches apart from the bell button. Now that I think about she was probably pretty nervous." Elena saw the look Caroline gave her. "Before you ask, she wanted to hang out. So we actually hang out and ate pizza and watched movies and we were just having fun and let me tell you, Care, she's so much different once you try to get to know her." Elena rambled on and Caroline had a hard time keeping her mouth shut. There were so many questions she just died to ask. But Elena kept on talking and when she came to the part where they kissed on the hill, Caroline's eyes widened while it dawned on her that Elena was actually serious about her feelings for Katherine.  
But she wasn't so sure if the other vampire was serious, too. She just wanted to protect her best friend and not let her become part of another one of Katherine's possible sick mind games and end up with a broken heart.

"It was just so perfect, Care. The lights, the way her eyes sparkled and how soft her lips were.." Elena said with a dreamy voice, making Katherine blush.

However, it was too much for the blonde vampire.

"Okay. That's enough, Elena! I understand where your feelings come from. But seriously? We're talking about _Katherine_ here. The one who not only killed Jeremy, but also almost killed Jenna and killed _me_!" Caroline pointed at herself. Katherine rolled her eyes, Blondie was really unforgiving. You could even say that Katherine did her a favor. Caroline was so much better as a vampire, but unfortunately still annoying as hell.

"I know." Elena sighed. "But like you said before… she's gotten under my skin."

"Damon once got under your skin, too." Caroline scoffed, causing Elena to send her an incredulous look and Katherine clenched her fists.

"Seems like you're into bad guys. Or girls." The blonde vampire concluded sarcastically.

"Seems like." Elena replied angry. "You done? Katherine's waiting."

She had enough of Caroline's attitude towards Katherine. She knew what Katherine had done and those whole new feelings confused her to no end, but she just couldn't help it. Now she just wanted to get back to her.

"I'm sorry, Elena." Caroline's scowl disappeared from her face when she realized she just unintentionally hurt her best friend. "C'mere."

The blonde pulled the brunette into a tight embrace. Elena sighed and slowly returned the hug.

"It's fine, Care. I know you only mean well for me."

"It's not. I mean I do, but you know. It's really weird. And it's not even the girl thing, although I never pegged you or rather Katherine to turn gay, but it's just the fact she's _Katherine_." Caroline explained gently, squeezing Elena. Both doppelgängers chuckled at Caroline's comment about Katherine turning gay. Even Katherine herself never thought that this would happen.

But as fun listening in to their conversation was, she got a little bit impatient by now. Elena was now gone for almost full ten minutes and Katherine just wanted to continue their shopping and then go home.

"Yeah, never imagined that one happening." Elena laughed and broke the embrace. "I'm glad we talked things out, but now I really have to get back to her before she gets too impatient."

"We'll talk later sometime, 'kay?" Caroline asked hopefully.

"Of course!" Elena exclaimed. "Bye Care."

"Bye Elena." Caroline showed her one last smile and then went back to her own shopping cart.

Elena stayed back, trying to collect herself before she faced Katherine. She guessed that the older vampire probably eavesdropped on her talk with Caroline. She took a few deep breaths and then turned around only to find Katherine standing there.

"You okay?"

Elena smiled at Katherine's worry. She walked over to her and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"Yeah, let's just get this done and go home."

"Gladly."

Elena chuckled and gave her another peck before they continued their way through the store.


	14. What Have We Done?

**AN: Sorry for the long wait. Had some bad writer's block. But I managed to write this whole chapter today. :)**

**And you better get ready for some EVIL PLOT TWIST !**

**Muwahaha.**

**Oh you gonna hate me for this one, because Kelena fluff is now kind of over. At least for now.**

**However, enjoy! xx**

* * *

The Salvatore Brother's were in their huge living room and Stefan once again tried to argue with Damon about not giving up on Elena and that they had to do something.

But Elena's comment about how they destroyed her life had hurt Damon deeply and so he drowned his pain in alcohol. And although Stefan's talking about not giving up on Elena annoyed him, he couldn't bring himself to tell Stefan what Elena had said to him.

It would hurt Stefan even more than it hurt him.

He wanted to spare his brother from this pain. Besides, he had small hope, that Elena didn't mean what she said. She was upset and when you're upset you say things you don't mean. He also hoped that it was because Elena is currently under the bad influence from her evil doppelgänger.

He blanked out on Stefan's talking and stared at the wall while trying to figure out what was going on between her and Katherine and what Katherine was up to.

Because Damon just couldn't imagine Katherine to willingly hang out with her doppelgänger without any ulterior motives.

"… to do something, Damon!" Stefan said for the hundred time. It was too much for Damon.

"NO STEFAN! Don't you get it?!" Stefan only gaped at Damon, taken aback by his sudden outburst.

"We can't do anything! At least not about Elena. Because the problem here is Katherine."

"Katherine?"

"Yes. It's always _Katherine_. Damn, Stefan. Don't be so blind. Why would Katherine willingly hang out with Elena when there wouldn't be any benefit for her, huh?"

"You mean she's just using her for something?" Stefan said dumbfounded.

Damon just gave him a pointed look which obviously said 'duh'.

"I mean, how could we be so blind? There's no use in trying to talk some sense into Elena. We all know how stubborn she is. And it's even more useless when she has Katherine by her side, being a huge and, not to forget, _bad_ influence to her." Damon had started to pace in front of the fire place, while Stefan was watching him with huge eyes.

His brother was right. How could he be so blind and not realize that they were in fact talking about Katherine. The most selfish and manipulative woman he knew. Of course there was something shady about her behavior towards Elena. Stefan mentally slapped himself on the forehead for being so ignorant.

"But why should she…?"

"Because she's Katherine!" Damon cut Stefan off. "She likes to play games."

"I know that, but I was about to say that letting Elena feed her fries seems not like the typical Katherine game to me."

They both pulled a face at this image. It was just plain weird.

"Oh I'm sure Katherine has some sick reason for that one, too." Damon gritted his teeth together.

"But what is she planning and why does she need Elena for it?" Stefan asked confused.

"I mean she gave her the cure. What else could she possibly want?"

"I don't know. We have to find out." Damon stopped pacing and faced his brother.

"But it's obvious that she's trying to get Elena to trust her first." Damon mused.

"She already has her kind of against us." Stefan continued.

"Exactly why we can't reason with Elena, but have to do something against Katherine!" Damon finished.

"And what do you suggest? Kill her? Throw her in the tomb? Like you said, it's Katherine. It's not like we can actually do something against her." Stefan sighed and put his head in his hands.

"Don't be so pessimistic, Stefan. Of course we can. We'll just ask Bonnie. She's stronger now."

"Yeah, but we still need a plan. And you know if that one fails, she will easily kill us." Stefan replied.

"Then we won't let it fail." Damon said cockily.

Stefan was just about to reply when rapid knocking on the front door interrupted them. They both shot each other a quick look, then Stefan went and opened the door.

/

On the other side stood a certain blonde vampire, impatiently waiting.

"Caroline?"

"We have a problem." The blonde girl said with a serious tone.

"What's wrong Blondie?" Damon appeared behind Stefan.

"There's something going on between Katherine and Elena."

"Like we don't know." Damon groaned and went back to the living room. The other vampires followed him.

"No you don't understand…" Caroline began, but got interrupted by Stefan.

"We just talked about it. Elena is obviously under the bad influence of Katherine, so we need to get rid of Katherine, since you can't argue with Elena right now."

"Well then you better act fast, because I just saw them in the grocery store. Kissing." Caroline put extra emphasis on the last word.

Two pair of eyes snapped up to her, looking extremely shocked.

"THEY WHAT?"

Caroline now felt extremely uncomfortable. Maybe she should have chosen a more subtle way to bring the news to them than just shouting it out.

"I'm sorry?" Caroline tried to apologize with a uncertain voice.

But the Salvatore Brother's were rather speechless. They were definitely not expecting _this_.

Stefan sat down on the couch, a far-away look in his eyes. He was trying his best to grab his mind around this, but it was just too surreal. Katherine and Elena? Kissing? What the hell happened?

"Now _that's_ a typical Katherine game, isn't it, Stefan?" Damon suddenly growled towards Stefan.

"What do you mean?" Caroline asked, eyes switching between the two brothers.

"Well, we were talking about how Katherine is probably using Elena for something, so she's trying to gain her trust first. Stefan said that letting Elena feed her with fries is not the typical Katherine scheme, but now it's clear."

"I still don't get it." Caroline confusedly cocked her head to the side.

"She's _playing_ her. Seducing her. Making her believe she's in love and then… BAM… comes the big blow and Elena will be heartbroken, if not dead." Damon explained.

Now Damon had two vampires gaping at him.

"No, no. That's impossible. I mean, it was weird, but it looked real." Caroline rambled. She didn't want her friend to end up hurt because of some sick scheme by Katherine. After her talk with Elena, she had finished her shopping while occasionally glancing at them and actually found them looking happy together. And although she hated to admit it, they kind of looked cute together. Nonetheless she couldn't help but feel the need to tell the Salvatore's about her discovery. And even though Elena didn't say to not tell anybody, she felt slightly guilty on her way over to the Boarding House. But after Damon's speech about Katherine probably just being Katherine and the possibility of this being nothing else but another scheme of her, she felt verified in her actions. She just wanted to protect Elena.

"Katherine is smart and manipulative. Of course it looked real." Damon exclaimed.

"And apparently it worked." Caroline mumbled, looking down.

"It worked?" Stefan stood up. "Caroline, what do you know?"

Caroline sighed and ran her hands through her blonde hair.

"Well… Elena.. she kinda told me that.." Caroline stuttered nervously.

"Told what? Go on." Damon demanded.

"She told me she has feelings for Katherine." Caroline finally whispered, avoiding eye contact. Now she wished she would've never come here. She felt so bad for kind of betraying her best friend like this and it was really not her place to tell. But now she couldn't take it back. It was out and she could do nothing but hope that Elena would forgive her.

"No. No, that's impossible. She can't." Stefan argued, being in denial that his ex-girlfriend is falling in love with his other ex-girlfriend.

"See! Just what I said. Make her fall for her and then go in for the kill." Damon tried to hold his anger him, but Caroline could see he had a hard time. His fists were tightly clenched beside his sides and his eyes glistened murderous.

"But now we can't get rid of Katherine." Stefan said in a defeated tone.

"What?! Why? We have to. Especially now!" Damon yelled.

"No, think about it, Damon! This changes everything. When Elena has feelings for her she's probably gonna protect her. And when we now hurt Katherine she will probably hate us forever."

"This is ridiculous!" Damon shouted and flashed over to the table with his bourbon. He poured himself a glass and emptied it with one large gulp. Caroline shot him a pitiful look.

"Stefan's right, Damon. When we now do something against Katherine, we will have Elena against us." Caroline tried to make Damon understand.

"Then what do _you_ suggest Blondie, huh?" Damon shot back.

"What about the Cure? I know Elena gave it to you. And since apparently no one wants to take it, how about we push it down Katherine's throat and then…" Caroline came no further as Damon interrupted her.

"And then what? Compel her to forget Elena and leave town?"

"Actually yes. Why not?" Caroline raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms over her chest. Stefan seemed to actually consider it, but Damon just let out a dry chuckle.

"Because it's stupid. It wouldn't work. First, you would never get close enough to Katherine in the first place and second, you would be dead before you could even try to push it down her throat."

"It was just an idea. No need to be rude." Caroline huffed.

"No no, the idea is good." Stefan suddenly declared. He was met with a thankful look from Caroline and a incredulous look from Damon.

"You've gotta be kidding me." Damon said exasperatedly.

"No, I don't mean the idea with the Cure." He shot the now offended looking Caroline a short apologizing look.

"But rather the compelling idea. I mean, we can't compel Katherine, but what about Elena? If we compel her to hate Katherine, her progress in getting Elena's trust is destroyed and can't be rebuild."

Damon stared at his brother unbelievingly. "Did you forget she's a vampire, too?"

"No, but we all know an Original who can compel vampires and wants the Cure, don't we?" Stefan explained.

"Rebekah?" Caroline asked surprised.

"You wanna ask Barbie Klaus to compel Elena for us to hate Katherine and in exchange we give her the Cure?" Damon was equally surprised.

Besides the unfortunate fact that it would cost them the Cure, the plan was actually quite good. Because once Katherine realized that Elena won't be part of her plan anymore she will hopefully just leave.

Stefan nodded at his brother. "And if you're wondering about Katherine's reaction, let's just hope she will leave instead of trying to kill any of us."

"Not that we'll let her kill any of us." Caroline exclaimed.

"Exactly." Stefan agreed, smiling proudly. He was in fact proud of himself to come up with this brilliant idea. In his eyes it was the perfect way to save Elena from Katherine. Elena wouldn't hate them and they surely would be able to handle Katherine afterwards.

"Okay. But how do you think this going to work? We'll just call Rebekah and tell her 'Hey you want the Cure? Compel Elena to hate Katherine and you get it'? Like she would go for that." Damon interjected.

"Oh I think she will." Stefan replied with certainty.

"It's worth a try, isn't it?" Caroline exclaimed eagerly. Stefan just raised his eyebrows at his brother and gestured with his hands to give it a try.

"Fine." Damon threw his hands up. "It's probably the best idea we could come up with anyway."

"Great." Stefan clapped his hands together. "I'm gonna call Rebekah and Caroline can you call Elena and get her here?"

"Ok." Caroline fished her phone out of her pocket. As she scrolled through her contacts she again had this feeling of guilt and shame for betraying her friend like this. When her thumb hovered over Elena's name, she hesitated for a moment, considering to stop their plan and maybe try to find out if the thing between the doppelgängers might be real and not just another scheme.

They could be totally wrong and make a horrible mistake right now.

The blonde vampire was just about to tell the Salvatores about her thoughts, when she heard Rebekah's voice already answering Stefan's call and so she finally pushed her finger down to call Elena.

/

"What do you want, Stefan?" Rebekah asked annoyed.

"Hello to you, too, Rebekah." Stefan replied amused.

"Skip the formalities and get to the point. I don't have time for this."

"I want you to compel Elena." Stefan took her at her words and got straight to the point.

The vampire on the other end of the line suddenly burst out laughing.

"You want me to do what? What has little Elena done to you this time?" Rebekah asked still laughing.

"She's currently hanging out with Katherine. And we think Katherine is just using her. But now Elena actually developed feelings for her, so it's useless to try and talk her out of it. So we need you to compel her to hate Katherine." Stefan explained the situation.

The fact that Elena fell for her doppelgänger stopped Rebekah's laughing.

"You mean sweet innocent Elena fell for her lookalike? Wow, that's good stuff." Rebekah chuckled. "Never thought she would have it in her. To be into girls, I mean. Especially not Katherine. Quite narcissistic if you're asking me."

"Well, I'm not. Just asking you to com…"

"Compel her. Yeah, got that." Rebekah interrupted. "But why would I want to do that? Can't take it that Elena is now into girls? Into your ex-girlfriend to be correct." The Original enjoyed to mock Stefan like that.

"Like I said, we think Katherine's just using her. We just want to protect her."

"Elena is smart and strong enough to look out for herself, Stefan. Maybe you just need to let go."

"We would have something for you in return." Stefan said calmly, ignoring her comment.

"What could you possibly have what I want? Goodbye, Stefan." Rebekah had enough. She was just about to hang up on the younger Salvatore when his next sentence made her freeze.

"The Cure."

"You're kidding. You can't have it. Katherine stole it." Rebekah replied irritated.

"She gave it back to Elena who gave it to us."

"Why would she do that?" Rebekah couldn't believe that Katherine would do something like that.

"We think to gain Elena's trust."

"So you want me to compel Elena to hate Katherine and you would give me the Cure for it?" Rebekah asked, making sure she understood him correct.

"Yes. I know you want it." Stefan replied.

Rebekah was silent for a few moments as she considered Stefan's offer. She would get the Cure for simply compelling Elena. She knew there would never be a second chance to get it so easily.

"Okay. I'll do it."

Stefan let out a breath of relief. "Good. Can you come over now? Caroline's already calling Elena."

"Alright. I'll be there in five." With that she hung up.

/

"Hey Caroline." Elena answered Caroline's phone call.

"Hey Elena. Got home already?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah, currently putting all the stuff we bought into the right places." Caroline could hear her rummaging in the background.

"Cool. Katherine still there?" Caroline asked, trying to sound nonchalantly.

"Yeah, she's helping. Why?" The brunette asked now suspiciously.

"Oh, nothing. Just wondering." Caroline shrugged it off.

"Uhm ok. Is there a reason you're calling or do you just want to continue our talk? Because if it's the latter you'll have to wait a little bit more until we're done, 'kay?"

"Well, actually yes. I wanted to ask if you could come to the Boarding House in like… right now?"

"Uhm, Caroline. I'd better not. I don't want to talk to them yet." Elena sighed.

"I know, but it's really important, Elena." Caroline tried her best to convince her.

"Why? Did something happen?"

"No. Not exactly. But could you please just come here? Please, Elena. For me." Caroline begged.

But Elena still hesitated. It was quiet on the on the other side, when Caroline suddenly could hear Katherine.

"Maybe you should go, Elena. I can finish here."

"You're sure? I would rather stay here."

"Yes, I'm sure. Go! I can do it alone and when you come back I'll still be here." Katherine's help made Caroline feel even more bad.

But it was too late now.

"Ok, fine. Care? I'll be there in five." Elena said defeated and then hung up.

/

"She's coming." Caroline turned back to the Salvatores.

"Rebekah too." Stefan confirmed.

"Guys, are we really doing the right thing?" Caroline asked timidly.

"No backing out now, Blondie. Of course we are!" Damon answered, sure of himself as always.

"But what if there's no scheme and it's all real. What if Katherine feels something for Elena, too?"

"Then that's not our problem, but Katherine's." Stefan replied emotionless.

"But Stefan…"

"No! No 'buts'." Stefan cut her off. "It's too late now anyway."

Caroline sighed in defeat.

"Don't worry, Blondie. It's Katherine. It can't be real." Damon assured her.

"I hope so. Elena would never forgive me if it was. And we have to be careful. Katherine's still at her house, waiting for her."

"She's waiting for her?" Stefan furrowed his eyebrows.

"Yeah, they went grocery shopping and were just putting the stuff away. She actually encouraged Elena to come here. And now I kind of feel bad, because when Elena comes back she will hate her."

"Oh come on. Don't feel bad for this slut." Damon exclaimed angrily.

"We have to bring Elena back home then." Stefan interjected.

"And why is that?" Suddenly sounded a voice with a certain accent through the living room.

/

All three vampires turned around and came face to face with the blonde Original leaning against the door frame.

"Rebekah." Stefan welcomed her with a nod. Damon just rolled his eyes at the girl.

"Stefan. Damon. Caroline." Rebekah greeted them, looking at each of them as she said their names.

"So why can't sweet Elena go home alone?" She asked as she stepped down the small stairs.

"Katherine will still be at her house. And she's expecting a Elena who is falling in love with her. Not one who will hate her." Damon explained smirking.

"So it's probably about to get ugly. So we're not going to let her face Katherine alone." Stefan added.

Caroline looked at her shoes and kept her mouth shut. She suddenly had a really bad feeling about this.

"Well sounds like fun." Rebekah chuckled. "Oh, and I want you to not tell Katherine that I compelled her new toy. Don't need her haunting me down. Not that she could actually kill me, but it still would be annoying."

"Alright." Stefan replied.

"Okay. Now where's the cure?"

"Ah ah ah. First do your job, _then_ you'll get the cure." Damon smirked.

"And how do I know you'll still give it to me once I compelled her?"

"How do we know you'll still compel her when we give it to you already?" Damon shot back.

"Fine. But you better keep your word." Rebekah said menacingly.

"We will." Stefan assured her quickly.

"Now what about you, Caroline? Don't feel bad for betraying your friend like this?" Rebekah faced the blonde vampire who still had said nothing.

"Just shut up." Said vampire snapped back and sat down on the couch, farthest away from where the other blonde stood.

Rebekah just let out a laugh at her. She was obviously having second thoughts. Well, too late now.

Then they all heard a car driving up to the house.

"She's here. Rebekah just go hide somewhere and when we give you the sign you'll come out, okay?" Stefan instructed. Rebekah nodded and disappeared with a woosh.

/

The door opened and Elena appeared in the room. She was kind of taken aback when she saw the little group looking at her and came slowly closer.

"What is going on?" She asked warily.

"I think we need to talk." Stefan said and gestured for her to come closer.

"About what?" Elena was visibly confused.

"About Katherine." Damon scowled.

Elena's eyes widened and snapped towards Caroline.

"You told them?" She yelled upset.

"I'm sorry, Elena." Caroline tried to apologize.

"How could you? That was not your place to tell, Care!" Elena was deeply disappointed in her friend and Caroline could see it.

"I know. I'm sorry." Caroline adverted her gaze. Elena just shook her head and faced the two other vampires.

"And are you gonna tell me now that I should be careful because it's Katherine? That she'll just use me?"

"Because she is! Wake up, Elena." Damon cut her off before she could continue.

"No, you wake up, Damon! She's changed. Or at least she tries to." Elena argued angrily.

"She can't be changed. She's just playing you. She always does." Damon replied exasperatedly.

"God, believe what you want. I'm leaving." Elena had enough and turned around, ready to leave.

"I'm sorry, Elena." Stefan's voice made her stop and turn around.

"For what?"

"For having to do this." Stefan looked like it pained him to say this. Elena furrowed her brows.

"What are you talking about?" There was a sudden woosh and her eyes widened as Rebekah appeared next to her.

"Hello Elena." She fake-smiled.

"What is _she_ doing here? What is going on?" Elena took a few steps backwards, keeping her eyes on the blonde Original.

"She's going to help us." Stefan answered.

"With what, Stefan? Get to the damn point!" Elena slowly got annoyed by his mysterious behavior.

"Let me tell you." Rebekah interjected, her smile forming into a smirk, which made Elena feel extremely uncomfortable. She felt like she got into a trap set up for her and her supposedly best friend lured her in.

"Your little saviours called me here to compel you."

Elena's eyes widened in shock. This was really a trap. Oh how she now wished she would've stayed with Katherine.

"B-but why?" Elena stammered, her eyes landing on her 'friends'. Caroline couldn't look at her, Damon just stared back with a dangerous glint in his eyes and Stefan had this 'Sorry-but-it's-the-best-for-you' look.

"Let me elaborate. They want me to compel you to hate Katherine. So her plan to use you will be destroyed." Rebekah truly enjoyed to bring those news to Elena and seeing fear appear in her brown does.

"What? No you can't do that. Please!" Elena yelled fearful and took a couple of steps backwards, only to have Rebekah follow her.

"Stefan! Why would you ask her to do that?" Elena's eyes started to water. If Rebekah compelled her, it was over with Katherine. And she didn't want to lose her, since she just found out how loving she can be.

_This can't be happening. How can they do something like that to me?_

It pained Stefan to see Elena like this. But it was the only way. "I'm sorry, Elena. But Katherine is dangerous."

"No, she's not. She's different with me! I'm not gonna let you compel me." Elena shouted and used her vampire speed to get out of the house.

However, Rebekah was faster and slammed her against the wooden front door.

"Not so fast, little girl."

"No, please don't do it." Elena struggled and clawed at the hand holding her against the door by her throat.

"Stop talking." Rebekah said, her pupils already dilating. "Listen carefully, Elena. From now on you'll despise Katherine Pierce. You'll hate her again and every feeling of love towards her will be forgotten. You'll forget what happened between you and her in the last couple of days and that this happened. You'll just remember that she's the one who killed your brother. Understood?"

Elena went still in her grip and the tears that were welling up in her eyes were slowly disappearing. Her face got hard and she repeated Rebekah's words in a monotone voice.

"I hate Katherine Pierce. There's no single feeling of love towards her in my body. She killed my brother."

.

There were four vampires in the room.

One was proudly smirking at her handwork.

Two were looking at Elena with satisfied looks.

And the fourth was thinking _Oh my god, what have we done?_


	15. Confrontation

**AN: Oh. My. God. 100 Reviews! You're guys are crazy! Thank you so much. I just love you all. :3 **

**And I know the plot twist was evil. Hehe..**

**So here's the confrontation you've been waiting for. Hope you like it. xx**

* * *

Katherine was nervously pacing Elena's kitchen. She was impatiently waiting for her return and somehow she got a really bad feeling about Elena's trip over to the Boarding House. Although she first encouraged her to go, once Elena actually stepped out of the house she felt like running after her and telling her not to go. But she had restrained herself and now she regretted it. She had no idea what Caroline might had wanted from Elena and maybe it was just her suspicious self, always on guard, expecting everyone to turn against her. She might be entirely wrong and Elena was fine.

And hopefully already on her way back to her.

Therefore Katherine tried to ignore her instincts and focus on something else to do until Elena returned. She looked around the kitchen, now filled with all kinds of food. The sight made her smile, since she could understand Elena. She just wanted to try and keep things a little bit normal here, as far as it was possible with her new life circumstances.

And although Katherine always made it look like she thought it was kind of useless and that she didn't care about human food, Katherine actually still enjoyed not only eating it, but also having it in her kitchen. Over the time of five centuries Katherine learned to cook quite good actually. Nobody knew she enjoyed to stand in the kitchen and make pasta or other delicious food.

It was her little secret, one that she might share with Elena one day. She thought about inviting her to some self-made candle-light dinner or they could even cook together someday.

However, she also liked to dine in fancy expensive restaurants. Or just stuff herself with sweets, like for example her guilty pleasure, _Skittles_. Ever since she tried them she actually formed some kind of an addiction to those little rainbow goodies.

No matter how good human food could be, she also knew that sooner or later Elena had to accept the fact that from now on she technically just needed blood to survive. And if she had a problem with that or was scared to lose control and end up as a ripper like Stefan, Katherine would be glad to help her.

.

The vampire had no idea what to do while waiting for her doppelgänger. Sighing she sat down at the table and put her elbows on it, resting her chin on her hands.

Since there was nothing better to do she let her thoughts stray to Elena and how she actually seemed to return her feelings. She couldn't help but smile at the memory of them sharing their first kiss on the hill. Katherine's heart had been on the brink of jumping out of her chest and her whole body tingled, when she finally felt Elena's soft lips on hers.

When people talked about seeing sparks while kissing, Katherine always had thought they made that up. But during her kiss with her doppelgänger she realized that they were right. Obviously she had never found the right person and that it was Elena of all people made her chuckle to herself.

There she sat with a goofy grin at the kitchen table and thought about that night, when it suddenly occurred to her that she never asked what had happened before she found her. Her smile slowly faded and she furrowed her brows as she realized that she actually had no idea why she found Elena crying like that in front of the open front door. She guessed it had something to do with the Salvatore's and made a mental note to ask Elena once she came back.

Talking of coming back, Katherine glanced at the time on her phone. Elena was now gone for over half an hour. The bad feeling in her stomach came back and she stared at the front door like she could compel it to open and reveal a safe and undamaged Elena.

But nothing happened and with a huff Katherine let her head fall on the table. She enjoyed the cool wood against her warm forehead for a short second when she suddenly heard a key being inserted into the lock of the front door.

Her head snapped up and a smile appeared on her face when the door swung open and Elena finally slipped into view. She was just about to greet her when she realized the Salvatore's were behind her.

Frowning, she stayed in her position and waited until they recognized her.

.

She never expected what happened next.

.

The Salvatore's were the first to see her sitting at the table and she got even more suspicious when she saw a short smug smirk flashing over Damon's face.

Elena was currently busy putting her keys on the table next to the door, but once she was done and faced the brother's again to thank them for bringing her home, she was met with the sight of them both staring at something behind her.

She furrowed her brows and turned around, only to be confronted with someone she neither expected nor wanted to see. Especially not here, in her house all alone, sitting at her kitchen table like she was the one who lived here.

_And why is she smiling at me like that?_ Elena asked herself confused. She felt like she was missing out on something, but she just couldn't figure it out.

Katherine's smile however disappeared when she saw Elena's eyes darken at the sight of her and her posture slowly took on a slightly more defensive attitude, like she expected Katherine to attack her.

_Oh uh. That's not good._ Katherine thought.

There absolutely _did_ something _bad_ happen at the Boarding House. She could practically feel it vibrating through the air.

She swallowed hardly and then finally managed to open her mouth.

"Hey. I've been waiting for you. Took you forever to come back." She chuckled, trying to ease the tension in the room, but it was still there.

Katherine started to feel uneasy under Elena's piercing stare and Stefan and Damon in the background, having those smug looks on their faces, which seemed to say 'We know something and you don't', didn't help either.

"What are you doing here?" Elena growled and Katherine felt like her heart stopped.

Her eyes widened and for a short second she was actually rendered speechless.

"I-I… I've been waiting for you?" Katherine stuttered, not knowing why Elena acted like this. She luckily didn't see the amused looks on the Salvatore's faces.

"But why?" Elena demanded. "What do you want?"

Katherine's mouth hung open, but then she quickly composed herself and took on a more straight posture.

"What is this? Did you fell on your head? What happened over there?" She snapped, directing the last question at the brother's behind Elena.

They both just made an innocent face and shrugged.

"Nothing worth mentioning." Damon smirked.

"You're sure about that?" Katherine growled threateningly. She felt like she was stuck in some bad movie. She stood up from her chair and walked a couple of steps forward, stopping when she noticed how Elena got stiff and shuffled a bit backwards.

"Elena? What happened?" Katherine asked concerned, ignoring the brothers.

"_Nothing_, Katherine. Now tell me why you're here." Elena spat out in return.

"I'm here because I've waited for you! We've been to the grocery store together and when we came back..."

"Wait, we were at the grocery store? _Together_?" Elena interrupted her, emphasizing the last word like it disgusted her.

Katherine silently studied her for a moment before she continued.

"Yeah... Caroline called and asked you to come over to the Boarding House. You first didn't want to go, but I told you to and now I regret it, because obviously they did something to you." She finished, her voice rising towards the end, because of her anger she tried to held in. At the same time it almost cracked due to tears she desperately fought back. She wouldn't cry in front of the Salvatore brothers. She wouldn't give them this satisfaction.

"Why would I go to a grocery store with you? I hate you." Elena shouted.

_Ouch, that hurt._ Katherine's shoulders slumped slightly at Elena's statement. She stared at her disbelievingly, trying to comprehend what was going on. It was almost too much for her and tears threatened to fall, but she managed to quickly blink them away before the Salvatore's could see them.

She never thought she would fall for her doppelgänger, let alone Elena would return her feelings. Still it happened and everything had been perfect. She was finally happy again, but now it was a huge mess and she didn't know what to think or believe anymore.

Had it all been just some game? Some evil plan to get her soft and then maybe kill her? Did Elena, goody-two shoes Elena, really play her?

Katherine refused to believe that Elena would actually be able to something like that. The last days seemed real to her.

All she wanted was to be able to take the younger brunette into her arms and hold her, kiss her, but now there was this different Elena that claimed to hate her.

That was not the Elena who had left the house now almost an hour ago and definitely not the one who she had woken up next to this morning.

She quickly composed herself and everyone in the room could see how her face got visibly harder and her eyes colder.

Elena gulped. An angry Katherine was never good.

"Well that's not how it sounded like this morning." Katherine remarked darkly, with her infamous smirk showing. Her bitchy self was now slowly returning.

Inside it was tearing her heart apart and she felt like crying, but on the outside she remained this cold and emotionless mask.

Stefan and Damon furrowed their brows, glaring at Katherine, while Elena shook her head disbelievingly.

"You're talking bullshit. I don't remember being with you this morning or even going to a grocery store with you. Making up something like that is a new low for you Katherine."

Katherine's eyebrow raised and she stared at Elena intensely.

"You think I'm making this up?" She took a step forward as Elena hesitantly nodded. "I'm _not _making this up, do you understand me? Don't you remember what happened in the last few days?"

"No, I don't. All I remember is that we came back from that island where you stole the Cure and _killed my brother_." Elena's last words were laced with anger and hate.

She had no idea what Katherine was talking about and why she would say something like that. Somewhere deep in Elena's subconsciousness something screamed at her, but she couldn't make out the words. The last few days were like a black hole to her and all that was there was the hate she felt for this woman who looked exactly like her.

Of course she had seen Katherine's shoulders drop at her claim to hate her and it even made her feel bad for like a millisecond, then the hate came back, clouding her mind.

.

Katherine tried to keep up her cold and indifferent attitude, but in her mind she was throwing a real tantrum at them. Because to her it was now quite obvious that they must have casted some spell upon her. Since compelling a vampire didn't work unless you're a Original and Katherine doubted that Rebekah would've done it. Except they promised her the Cure in return, but that seemed extremely ridiculous.

She groaned mentally. _Why did they do this? Were they so jealous of me, because it might be me who gets the girl in the end? Had they really to cast a spell to prevent Elena from falling in love with me? Sore losers._

Katherine wanted to scream and punch something, but she kept her cool, not wanting to scare Elena. When she now lost control she probably would lose the girl, too.

_Not that I already kind of lost her. _Katherine thought sarcastically.

She wondered if deep down in her subconsciousness Elena still had her true feelings for Katherine. Maybe the spell had some kind of a loophole or something like that and she could be able to get through Elena's manipulated mind and wake those buried feelings again.

_But are Elena's feeling for me strong enough already? Or would it be useless to try? _

Naturally she could go and get her own witch, but she guessed it was Bonnie who helped them and most of other witches didn't want to interfere with a Bennett witch. Just like Lucy, who had betrayed her at the Masquerade Ball two years ago, once she found out about Bonnie being involved.

"I came back and I apologized. I even gave you the Cure." Katherine tried one last time. Elena's eyes widened in surprise.

That's not true, right? She couldn't remember and if Katherine really would've done something like that, she should be able to, right?

"Don't fucking lie to me! If you really did as you said, then how come I don't remember?" Elena asked angrily.

"I don't know!" Katherine yelled. "They must have cast a spell over you or something like that." Katherine pointed towards Stefan and Damon, who had kept their mouths shut and just observed the scene, but ready to interfere, should it get ugly.

"Hell we did!" Damon now yelled. "Just accept the fact that no one likes you here."

"It's probably better if you go now." Stefan said calmly, trying to prevent a fight like he always did.

"Oh do you really think I'll believe that?" Katherine snarled.

"You better do, evil slut." Damon replied, preparing himself to avert a possible blow, should Katherine jump at him.

But Katherine refrained herself from breaking his neck for Elena's sake. Instead she just let out a humorless laugh and shook her head unbelievingly.

"Yeah sure. I _know_ what I did." She again faced Elena, who glared at her. "I know you do, too.

"But I don't. And do you really think that would make it better? Some lame apology and reobtaining the Cure _won't_ bring me back my brother." Elena yelled, tears welling up in her eyes.

_Fuck, please don't cry._ Katherine thought, feeling a pang in her heart.

Luckily she didn't say that out loud. It probably would have earned her some weird looks.

She wanted to take Elena in her arms so badly. She wanted to wipe those tears away and tell her how sorry she really was, but that was impossible.

"JUST LEAVE!" Elena suddenly yelled when Katherine gave no response, since she had been distracted by Elena's tears. The older vampire flinched at her hard tone.

"Elena, please. Just listen to me..."

"No, I don't want to. I _hate_ you. Leave _now_ or we'll kill you." Elena cut her off.

"Like you would be able to." Katherine chuckled darkly, hiding her pain. That comment stung.

"But fine, I'll leave." She strutted towards Elena and ignored Stefan and Damon, who both took a step forward, obviously ready to defend Elena.

_Like I would ever hurt Elena. Stupid boys._

"But we're not done yet." She whispered into Elena's ear, smirking when she heard her breath hitch and felt her shiver. At least she still had some kind of effect on her doppelgänger.

Elena gasped and squinted her eyes at her evil lookalike. _What is she planning? Is she planning something anyway? And why can't I remember what happened? And even more important, why is it so important to Katherine? Did she maybe say the truth for once?_

Elena was thoroughly confused and didn't know what to think anymore. She didn't believe Stefan and Damon would cast a spell that would remove her memory without her permission. Stefan would never allow something like that and neither would Damon.

Stefan and Damon shot each other a short glance. Apparently they saw Elena's reaction, too. They both had hoped Katherine would leave once she realized Elena went back to hating her and that her alleged plan was doomed, but it was clear to see that she wouldn't give up that easily. How could they ever believe she would? They could just hope that Katherine won't be able to somehow trigger Elena's hidden feelings, otherwise they had a real problem. Then Katherine would have won once again and they had wasted the Cure for nothing.

Surprisingly the confrontation went rather well until now and didn't get ugly, like they expected. But they cheered too soon, because once Katherine left Elena's side she faced them. In her eyes was a murderous glint and before they could realized what was happening she flashed over to them. Taking them off guard, she grabbed one arm in each hand and forced them on their knees, their bones breaking with a sickening noise.

"Oh my god STOP!" She heard Elena scream, but ignored her this time.

"Whatever you did, I'll find out." Her voice dripped with venom.

They groaned in pain as she let them fall down and kicked them in their guts, making them double over in agony.

"And you'll regret this!" With a last short glance at the shocked Elena she suddenly was gone.

.

While Stefan and Damon realized in pain that they might underestimated Katherine, Elena was wondering if she had gone crazy or if there were actually tears in Katherine's eyes right before she disappeared.


	16. Revelations

**AN: Over 15,000 views and 117 reviews. Wow. I never thought people would actually like my story. Thank you soo much! :3**

**Writer's block and wanting to write a long chapter doesn't go well, but I finally finished the next chapter!**

**Enjoy! :D**

* * *

Katherine had managed to hold back the tears until she arrived at her apartment. But once she closed the door, she couldn't hold back anymore and started to cry uncontrollably, leaning against the door, slowly sliding to the floor. She still couldn't comprehend what just happened at Elena's house. They way Elena's eyes were dark with hate and how she seemingly forgot about the last two days.

Maybe it had been really just some plan to humiliate her.

_Would Elena really fall for me in just two days? I mean, so shortly after I killed her brother? No one in his right mind would do something like that, right?_

The older vampire sat sobbing on the floor, hating herself for being so foolish and emotional. She never had cried so much in her life as a vampire like in the last days. In fact, it was the first time she could remember, to be honest. The only time she remembered herself crying was five hundred years ago, when she had returned to Bulgaria and found her murdered family.

And now her doppelgänger reduced her to this crying mess once again. Her body trembled and violent sobs racked her body. Tears cascaded down her face, ruining her make-up.

When it got to uncomfortable on the hard floor she slowly got up on wobbly legs and stumbled over to her bed. She let herself fall down on it and crawled into the middle, where she curled up into a fetal position. Clutching a pillow to her chest, Katherine cried even harder, letting it all out.

Soon she realized she was not only crying about Elena, but every other bad thing she did or happened to her. She remembered how she had turned her humanity off for the first time back then. The death of her whole family had been just too much to handle.

Now she was on the brink of doing it again.

_Just turning it all off, not having to feel any of this pain, betrayal and shame. Maybe even take revenge on the Salvatore's and then leave town, to never come back._

But something held Katherine back. She just couldn't bring herself to turn the switch. Something about the way Elena had looked at her this morning seemed just so real.

_Could this be love or was it just a game?_

Katherine was torn between those two options. There were so many 'What if's to the situation, it almost gave her a headache.

_What if it was just a game and they'll take advantage of my vulnerable state? What if it had been real and I should fight for Elena? What if fighting would be useless? What if I could get her back? What if I lost Elena forever?_

Katherine let out a frustrated scream and punched the mattress with her fist.

Why had this to be so hard? It was not fair that every time she finally found some happiness in her usually lonely life someone had to take it away from her and destroy it.

She hid her face in her pillow, staining it with tears and mascara, as she once again thought about the last two days. Especially this morning and how Elena's eyes had been so full of sincere love and adoration.

With those eyes in mind she finally made a decision.

No matter what would happen, she would find out what they did to Elena and if fighting for her would be worth it.

_Wait, it's Elena, who we're talking about here. She would always be worth fighting for._

Determined she wiped her tears and stood up to clean up herself. Katherine walked over to the bathroom and gasped when she looked into the mirror.

She looked horrible. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, her mascara was smudged and had left dark streams on her cheek. Her hair was a mess.

The sight almost made her cry again so she quickly turned around and turned on the shower. While the water was heating up she undressed herself and combed through her messy hair. Once steam began to fill the bathroom, she stepped under the hot stream and let the water wash away her ruined make-up. She slowly calmed down and her tense muscles began to relax. She rested her forehead against the cool tiles of the shower and let out a shaky sigh.

"Don't worry, Elena. I'll make you remember and then we'll be together again." Katherine whispered to herself.

She had found new hope and strength and was ready to do whatever was necessary to get her girl back.

.

Currently at the Gilbert House, Elena helped Stefan and Damon to get up from the floor and led them over to the couch. Their broken bones were slowly healing and the pain in their stomachs began to fade away.

"This Bitch." Damon hissed, holding his stomach.

"Don't call her that!" Elena abruptly yelled, surprising the Salvatore's and herself.

"Excuse me?" Damon asked incredulous, shooting Stefan a quick glance.

Was the compulsion wearing off already? _But that could only happen if Rebekah died and … Oh my god._ Damon's eyes widened at his thoughts. They gave Rebekah the Cure! If she takes it and becomes human, would the compulsion still work or would it wear off just like it would if someone staked her? How could they've been so stupid and forget this small but very important detail?

"I-I'm sorry… I don't know where that came from." Elena shook her head, irritated from her own words. She had no idea why she felt like she needed to defend her evil doppelgänger. But ever since she supposedly saw tears in Katherine's eyes her mind was elsewhere and she was extremely confused. She still hated Katherine with every fiber of her body, but something nagged at her mind and those tears had stirred something deep in her. Katherine words only added to this confusion. _What the hell was going on?_

"It's fine. Don't worry." Stefan assured her while Damon seemed to contemplate her words.

"Yeah.." Damon trailed off, faking a smile. He had to talk to Stefan asap and without Elena in earshot.

"But…" Elena bit her lip, trying to find the right words to ask the question that formed in her mind.

"But what?" Stefan asked gently. Elena took a deep breath and then locked eyes with him.

"What did Katherine mean when she said you must have cast a spell on me? Have you? I mean, you wouldn't, right? But I can't remember anything and… I-I just can't see a reason why she would make up something like that."

Elena observed Stefan's eyes and she was sure she saw a short flicker of something that looked like guilt. It was gone just as quickly as it came and Elena wondered if she perhaps just imagined it, yet her suspicion only grew. Something didn't feel right.

"It's Katherine, it's exactly what she would make up to get people into doing what she wants." Damon cut in.

"But what does she want? And how can making up that we went to the grocery store together help?" Elena asked confused. She had a feeling that someone of the three vampires was lying to her and although she despised Katherine, somehow she felt like it wasn't her doppelgänger this time. She had to find out what really happened.

"We don't know, but we'll keep a watch on her." Stefan said soothingly. Damon nodded.

"She won't get near you again." Damon promised her.

"Okay." Elena gave in.

"Alright, now that's clear, we gonna go and give you some space." Damon said and stood up from the couch. He didn't want to leave, but he had to talk to Stefan and then they had to talk to Rebekah, too. When Stefan threw him a confused glance, he shot him a pointed look and nodded his head towards the door.

Thankfully his little brother understood and got up, too.

"Well, call us if you need anything or she comes back, 'kay?" Stefan asked the brunette, who stood next to him frowning at Damon's behavior who in return just smirked at her.

"Yeah, don't worry. I'll be fine." Elena assured him, distracted with Damon. It was unusual that he willingly would give her space.

There was definitely something wrong here. And she hated the fact that she had to face Katherine again to get her answers. Hopefully true one's this time. But how could she be sure Katherine will tell her the truth and not play her? Elena could only hope for the best.

Elena followed them to the door where Stefan gently squeezed her shoulder before leaving her and Damon alone in the hallway.

"What?" Elena exclaimed when Damon just stood there, studying her.

"Nothing. Just be careful." He retorted, his blue eyes staring intensely at her.

"I'm always careful, Damon." Elena chuckled and then leant forward to kiss him goodbye.

But when their lips met she wasn't welcomed with the usual feeling of warmness and love. To be honest, she felt like kissing her brother. It was weird and felt wrong.

She quickly pulled back, masking her discomfort with a small smile which Damon returned. There was something in his eyes that spurred her suspicion, but she couldn't quite grasp it.

Finally Damon turned around to follow his brother and Elena closed the door behind them. When she turned around she brought her fingertips up to her lips. She felt like she was missing something and after that strange kiss it was definitely not Damon.

Her eyes fell on the chair where Katherine had sat and mixed feelings came up. Hate was there, but also something entire else which she couldn't seem to name.

As much as she didn't want to, there was no other option than go and talk to Katherine.

Sighing she picked up her keys and left the house.

.

When Matt came home from work he was surprised to see a certain blonde vampire waiting on his porch. The sight of her made him actually smile.

"Hey." He greeted her smiling.

"Hi." Rebekah answered also smiling.

"No offense, but what are you doing here?" The blonde human asked curious.

"No offense taken." Rebekah laughed. "I'm here because I wanna ask you something."

"Okay, you wanna come in?" Matt asked, fully aware that he just invited a vampire into his house. Rebekah realized it too and it made her smile even more, knowing that Matt seemed to trust her.

"Sure." She smiled.

Rebekah followed Matt inside, still smiling when she stepped over the threshold without hitting into some invisible barrier.

"You want something to drink? Water maybe?" Matt offered politely.

"No thank you." Rebekah chuckled. He was just too cute.

"Alright." He clapped his hands together. "Then tell me what's up."

"Well, I wanted to ask you…" She trailed off, suddenly unsure of how to form the question that was in her mind.

"Ask me what?" Matt encouraged her, smiling gently and his blue eyes shining in the light.

"I-I.. wanted to ask… if you think I would make a good human." She avoided eye contact and her voice was close to a whisper.

"If you would make a good human?" Matt asked surprised.

"Yeah." The Original mumbled, glancing at him.

"Uhm, why do you want to know?"

"I might got hands on the Cure." Rebekah fidgeted with her hands nervously.

"You mean you stole it from Katherine?" The blonde boy asked unbelievingly, his eyes widening.

"No, didn't you know? She gave it to Elena who gave it to Stefan and Damon." Rebekah explained. But his wide eyes and surprised face made it obvious that he didn't know about this turn of events.

"Oh, you didn't." Rebekah observed uncomfortable, managing a weak smile. "Well…"

"So you mean Katherine willingly gave the Cure to Elena?" Matt couldn't believe what he just heard. Was this maybe the reason why Elena went to the Grill with Katherine? And actually acted nice towards her?

"As far as I know, yes." Rebekah confirmed.

"So you stole it from Stefan and Damon." Matt accused her suddenly.

"No! No, they gave it to me. In return I had to do something for them, but that's not important right now." Rebekah quickly explained. "Right now, I just want to know if you think I should take it."

"Uhm, Rebekah…" Matt sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I don't know, to be honest."

Rebekah's face dropped at his words. Would she be really that bad as a human?

"Okay… I-I understand." She got ready to leave when suddenly a hand grabbed her arm.

"Hey, wait. I didn't mean it like that. I mean, I don't know if I'm the right one to tell you what to do. Or if you should take the Cure. I mean that's a pretty big deal, you know?" Matt showed off a crooked smile. He didn't know what exactly Rebekah wanted to hear. Should he tell her 'Yes, take it' or 'No, stay a vampire'?

"Oh. Well, I know that it's a big deal." Rebekah chuckled. "Still I need some answers. I just thought you could help me with that, is all."

Matt stayed silent for a few moments, thinking about her words.

"Well, I don't know why but I actually think you would make a good human, but could you really be one? After thousand years of being a vampire?" He finally said.

"I like to believe that all I need is someone to be there for me and help me." Rebekah answered with a sly smile.

"Let me guess, that someone should be me?" Matt asked grinning.

"Maybe." The blonde girl retorted sheepishly.

"Seems like I have no other choice then, huh?" He winked at her. Rebekah's eyes widened as she took in the meaning of his words.

"You mean you really would help me adjusting?" She asked, a grin slowly forming on her pink lips.

"Yeah, I would." Matt confirmed.

"Thank you!" Rebekah squealed, jumping forward and pulled him into a tight hug.

Matt was first surprised, but then smiled and put his arms around her. It felt good, having her in his arms.

After a short while she slowly pulled back until they could look into each other's eyes, only inches between them. Both studied each other silently, when Rebekah finally leant forward and pressed her lips against his one's for the first time. Their kiss started out gentle and slow, but quickly turned more passionate.

They parted when Rebekah remembered that Matt needed to breath. No words were needed when they smiled at each other, trying to catch their breaths.

"I appreciate that you think I would make a good human. Thank you." Rebekah said softly.

"You're welcome." Matt replied.

"You know, I thought about the summer and…" Rebekah trailed off. Matt only raised a eyebrow.

"How about we spend it together? I'll show you the world and at the end of it, if you still think I would make a good human, I'll take the Cure and we could… maybe stay together?" Rebekah asked unsure if Matt would say yes to her proposal.

But the human surprised her with a gentle kiss and a smile. "I would love to."

Then he planted another kiss on her soft lips and another and another and soon they ended up on the couch, in a heavy make-out session.

.

Elena drove through the streets of Mystic Falls, always on the look-out for something that looked like Katherine.

"This is ridiculous." She groaned as she realized that she had no idea of how to find her. She didn't know where Katherine went or even where she lived at the moment.

Elena could only guess whether Katherine lives in a nice apartment in the middle of Mystic Falls or would she rather prefer an expensive mansion out of town?

The younger vampire stopped at a red light and rested her head on the wheel with another groan. A sudden honk startled her and when she looked up, she realized it was already green. She continued to drive until she gave up and parked her car in a free spot on the parking lot behind the Grill.

Maybe she had more luck by foot and perhaps she was able to catch Katherine's scent this way.

The brunette exited her car and walked off, determined to find her.

.

Had Katherine known that Elena would search for her, she probably would have stayed at home as to wait if Elena would find her. But she didn't know, so after her shower she got dressed and took off towards Bonnie's house.

She and the little witch would have a little talk.

.

Bonnie was in her kitchen, preparing tea, when suddenly the door bell chimed.

"One moment." She yelled, as she quickly poured the hot water into her tea pot and then walked over to the door.

"Elena? Oh my god, how are you?" Bonnie exclaimed when she saw who stood in front of her house.

She hadn't heard of her best friend since they came back from that creepy island. In fact, she hadn't heard of anyone and to make it only worse, someone had yet to tell her that Jeremy is dead. Bonnie still thought he was at home with Elena and just gave them some time to mourn the loss of the Cure.

Katherine raised an eyebrow and smirked devilishly.

"Wrong doppelgänger, witch."

"Katherine." Bonnie said with a bitter tone. "What are you doing here?"

"You and I are going to have a little chat. Mind if I'm coming in?" Katherine smirked.

"No, thank you." Bonnie took a step back, ready to shut the door into Katherine's face.

"Well too bad, but we still have to talk. I have some questions for you." Katherine's eyes got darker as her tone grew more serious.

"Unless you're here to hand over the Cure I have no interest in talking to you." Bonnie remarked angrily.

That caught Katherine's attention. Wait, the witch had no idea she gave it to Elena? But if she doesn't know about that, how could she cast a spell over Elena?

Katherine's forehead crunched up in a confused frown.

"Wait, you still think I have the Cure?" She asked incredulously.

Bonnie narrowed her eyes at Katherine.

"Please don't tell me someone stole it from you." She replied sarcastically, leading Katherine to laugh out loud.

"No, I actually gave it to Elena two days ago. No one told you?" Katherine drawled amused, her smirk widening when she saw the look of surprise and shock on Bonnie's face.

"You… what?" Bonnie couldn't believe what Katherine told her. Was it true?

"Yeah, I came back and gave it to Elena. I have no idea what she did with it though." Katherine remarked, carefully studying Bonnie's reaction.

The witch ran her hands trough her long hair and took a deep breath.

"How can I be sure you tell the truth, huh? I mean, I haven't talked to anyone since we came back and…"

"Wait!" Katherine cut her off. "What do you mean, you haven't talked to anyone?"

The bad feeling in her stomach returned. It appeared more and more obvious that Bonnie didn't cast a spell. Hell, she didn't even know that the Cure wasn't even in Katherine's possession anymore.

"That I neither talked to Elena nor Jeremy or…." Bonnie began, but Katherine interjected again.

"You really have no idea what happened, do you?" Katherine asked in disbelief.

"I… no. What happened?" Bonnie frowned. She began to feel uncomfortable under Katherine's piercing stare.

"Well, first. Jeremy's dead." Katherine stated bluntly, ignoring Bonnie's shocked gasp.

"Second, I returned the Cure. Thirdly, I had some nice days with Elena until she started hating me again out of nowhere. My first clue was that Stefan and Damon asked you to cast a spell on her, but obviously I was wrong. Well, have a nice day, Bon-Bon." Katherine winked at her smirking and then disappeared without waiting for another reaction.

There was no longer any use in staying here and talk to Bonnie, since she probably would be a crying mess in the next twenty seconds. Besides, it was obvious that Bonnie had no idea what had happened during the last two days and therefore would also have no idea about the events at the Boarding House.

.

On her way towards her car, which she had parked a few meters away, the frustrations got the best of her and she angrily kicked a trash can that stood next on the sidewalk. It flew away, spilling its smelly contents all over the front lawn of the closest house.

"Fuck." Katherine yelled, pulling her car door open with more strength than needed, almost taking it off its hinges.

She sat down in front of the wheel, not starting the engine, just blankly staring at the street. _What now? _She had been so sure they had casted a spell that she never even considered any other options. She doubted that they had another witch and compelling was out of the question. Katherine groaned and angrily wiped at her eyes as new tears threatened to appear.

The vampire had no idea what to do. For the first time she felt helpless and hopeless.

After she composed herself as much as possible, she finally started the engine and took off towards her apartment. She drove through Bonnie's neighborhood, her mind elsewhere, when something suddenly caught her eye.

A certain blonde Original left a normal looking house, walking down the driveway. Katherine frowned and narrowed her eyes. _What the hell are you doing here?_

She quickly pulled over and ducked herself behind the wheel, following Rebekah with her eyes. The blonde vampire walked over to a red Convertible and got inside without looking around. Otherwise she probably would have become suspicious of the black Porsche that now stood only a few meters away.

Katherine let her car slowly roll forward until she got a better look at Rebekah, who had taken something from her passenger seat.

Rebekah had a small box in her hands and even before Rebekah opened it Katherine recognized it immediately as the Cure. She let out a small shocked gasp.

_How the hell did she get that?_

.

Meanwhile, Elena had not much luck in finding Katherine. She wandered through the streets without finding any hints about the whereabouts of her doppelgänger.

She was annoyed to no end. _Katherine had to be somewhere, right? Or did she leave town? _

Any other time Elena would be happy if Katherine left, but this time she still needed some answers, so she hoped that her doppelgänger didn't run away like usual. But then she remembered Katherine's words. _We're not done yet. _Well, that implies that Katherine must be still around, right?

She sat down on a park bench for a short break, when suddenly her phone rang. She fiddled it out of her pocket and answered without a look at the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Elena? It's me, Bonnie." Came the sniffling voice of the witch.

"Bonnie! Oh my god, I'm so sorry I didn't call. What's up?" Elena exclaimed, happy to hear her friend's voice.

"I-I n-need to talk t-to you." Bonnie sounded like she was crying.

"Wait, are you crying?" Elena asked concerned.

"Is it true?" Bonnie ignored her question.

Elena was confused. _Was what true?_

"What do you mean?"

"That Jeremy's dead!" Bonnie yelled upset.

Elena's breath caught in her throat and her eyes widened. _Oh my god._ Had no one told Bonnie about Jeremy's death? Elena suddenly felt bad and guilty for her friend.

_"_Yeah…" Elena finally croaked out, her voice raspy. She cleared her throat and then continued. "My god, I'm so sorry, Bonnie. I-I don't know how I… how _we_ could forget to tell you. It has been a hell of a mess the last couple days a-and I-I... I don't know."

"Woah thanks Elena." Bonnie said ironically, interrupting Elena's rambling.

"I'm truly sorry, Bonnie. Who told you?" Elena asked guiltily.

"I had to find out through Katherine of all people!" Bonnie shouted exasperatedly.

"Hold on, Katherine?" Elena asked excitedly, momentarily forgetting about Bonnie's misery. No wonder she couldn't find her when she had been at Bonnie's place.

"When did you talk to her?"

"She was here five minutes ago. Why?" Bonnie asked confused.

"I need to talk to her!" Elena exclaimed, relieved that she finally found Katherine.

"Well, she's already gone and now probably far from here. But back to Jeremy, how…" Bonnie started, but Elena cut her off.

"I'm sorry, Bonnie. I really have to find Katherine. Call Stefan, he'll tell you everything." She was just about to hang up when she remembered something. "Oh, and please don't tell him I'm looking for Katherine. Thank you! Bye."

With that she hung up giving Bonnie no chance to object. She ran back to her car and took off towards Bonnie's place on full speed.

If she was lucky Katherine would still be nearby.

.

Katherine still watched Rebekah sitting in her convertible, with the Cure in her hands. She shook her head unbelievingly. Did she stole the Cure from Elena? Or had Elena given it to the Salvatore's? Could it seriously be possible that Stefan and Damon traded the Cure for a compulsion from Rebekah?

Katherine gritted her teeth and clenched her fists as anger overtook her. She was sure Rebekah wouldn't have said no to a deal like this.

_If this is true, this blonde bitch better reverse her compulsion or I'll fucking kill her._

Without thinking twice Katherine got out of her car and crossed the street.

"Rebekah!" She yelled angrily, causing the Original to quickly turn around in her seat.

"Katherine." Rebekah smirked once she saw who was coming her way. Of course Katherine would find her sooner or later. The only question was whether or not she knew about her compulsion. Katherine's angry facade made her bet on '_Yes, she knows'._

"What a lovely surprise. What can I help you with?" Rebekah smiled sweetly.

"Cut the crap." Katherine snapped. "Why do you have the Cure?"

"Oh." Rebekah furrowed her brows and raised the box. "You mean this thing?"

Katherine only nodded, her eyes blazing with anger and hate.

"Oh, well, I earned it, y'know."

"How?" Katherine pushed out through gritted teeth.

"Oh, you're smart. I'm sure you know it already." Rebekah smirked viciously.

"You didn't." Katherine's eyes widened and her whole body trembled with restrained rage.

Katherine couldn't believe that Elena was seriously compelled to hate her. She wanted to punch Rebekah in her stupid smirking face so badly. But it probably wasn't a good idea to punch an Original in the face.

"Oh Honey, I did." Rebekah replied smirking even more.

The next second she found herself being pushed against the steering wheel with Katherine's hand around her throat, choking her. Katherine's eyes flashed murderous and her face was only inches away from hers. Rebekah's breath hitched and her heart rate picked up. Although she was so much older and stronger, she always was a little bit scared by the infamous Katherine Pierce.

"Why?" Katherine snarled dangerously.

"I wanted the Cure." Rebekah choked out.

"Well, you got it. Reverse your compulsion!" Katherine tightened her grip even more.

"No can do." Rebekah simply replied and suddenly pushed Katherine off of her. She grabbed her wrist and twisted hard. Katherine screamed and sank down on her knees.

"You should know better than to attack an Original, Katherine." Rebekah said menacingly.

Then she started the engine and drove away laughing, leaving an injured Katherine on the sidewalk.

.

Katherine laid on the ground, groaning in pain and cradling her twisted wrist against her chest, when a car stopped next to her. She didn't even bother to look up when she heard someone exit and walk around it.

"Katherine?" That voice however made her head snap up.

There stood Elena, staring at her with a mocking smirk.

"Ugh, great. What are you doing here?" Katherine groaned in pain and carefully pushed herself of the ground, still cradling her twisted wrist against her chest.

"I'm actually looking for you." Elena simply said, making Katherine raise her eyebrows in surprise.

"Well, you found me. Wanna hate on me some more?" She remarked sarcastically, her voice slightly cracking. She felt hurt and helpless again, now that she finally found out what was wrong with Elena. She had no clue how to fix it. If Rebekah didn't reverse her compulsion, Katherine saw no future for them. And how could she convince Rebekah to reverse it? She already had the Cure.

Elena sighed. "No, I wanna talk."

"You wanna talk?" Katherine let out a humorless laugh. "I thought you hated me."

"I do." Elena confirmed. "But I need some answers, too."

"Well, too bad. I don't wanna talk to you."

As much as she wanted to, she had to keep Elena in suspense. _Don't act too fast and then get burned._

Instead she ignored Elena and walked over to her car. Her hand had slowly healed back into place.

"Oh come on, big baby. Don't act like this." Elena exclaimed exasperatedly, following Katherine, who turned around and stared at her incredulously.

"Did you just call me _big baby_?"

"Yes I did." Elena said firmly.

"Call me that again and you'll regret it." Katherine threatened her and took a few menacing steps forward, pointing her finger at Elena, who stood there unfazed.

"You said I should listen to you. So here I am. Talk to me!"

Katherine retracted her finger and stared at Elena, contemplating her words.

"Fine." She turned around. "Get in the car."

"But my…" Elena started, pointing at her own car over her shoulder.

"Get in the car or leave me alone." Katherine snapped, getting into her Porsche without waiting for another objection of her doppelgänger. Elena grumbled, but obeyed in the end.

As Katherine took off on full speed, her eyes only focused on the street, both doppelgängers had the same thought.

_This will be interesting._


	17. Because I fucking love you!

"So, would you like to tell my why we gave Elena some space?" Stefan asked his brother once they arrived at the Boarding house.

"Well, brother, I realized that we forgot some _little_ detail in our plan." Damon answered, while forming a small gap between his thumb and pointer finger of this right hand.

"What do you mean?" Stefan furrowed his brows.

"How can a compulsion be reversed?" Damon asked, hoping Stefan would catch on.

But Stefan was totally oblivious of the whole situation and had no idea what Damon meant.

"When the vampire who compelled someone dies or the person who's compelled becomes a vampire. But what has this do to with Elena? She's already a vampire and Rebekah can't be killed." Stefan said clearly irritated with Damon.

"Stefan just think for once!" Damon shouted. His brother could be so dense sometimes.

"Why can't you just tell me?" Stefan shouted back.

"Urgh, don't you realize it? We gave Rebekah _the Cure_." Damon finally revealed the detail they forgot.

"And why is that… oh." Damon sighed relieved as Stefan finally caught on to the meaning of Damon's question. "Fuck."

"Fuck indeed." His brother agreed grimly.

"What are we gonna do now?" Stefan asked with wide eyes. He knew exactly what would happen if Rebekah took the Cure. And he was sure Elena would hate them forever then.

"I have no fucking idea." Damon admitted. "But we have to talk to Rebekah asap!"

"Well then let's go." Stefan announced and was already on his way towards the door, Damon hot on his heels.

/

They drove in silence with Katherine occasionally glancing over to Elena. At the beginning Elena had sat there stiff and clearly uncomfortable to be in the same car like Katherine. But after a couple of minutes when Katherine made no attempt in talking to her or maybe even attacking her, she relaxed and looked out of the window with a blank look.

However, Katherine could still see the hate in her eyes and it made her sad and mad at the same time. If she didn't hate her, Elena probably would smile lovingly at her instead of staring at the landscape rushing by and Katherine would be able to rest her hand on Elena's thigh.

But no, she hated her and Katherine had no idea what to do against it other than telling her everything and hope for the best.

She glanced at Elena once again. The younger girl fiddled with the hem of her shorts and looked extremely bored now. Like sensing her gaze she suddenly turned her head and looked at Katherine.

"What?" She spat out.

"Nothing." Katherine said hurriedly and quickly adverted her eyes. Elena scoffed and turned back to the window.

"When are we there? Wherever _there_ is." Elena demanded bitterly. It had only been like ten minutes or something, but to Elena it already felt like hours.

Katherine sighed and considered ignoring her, but then chose to tease her.

"What are you? Five? I thought only children would ask that." She smirked at her doppelgänger who scowled angrily in return.

"No! But I would like to know, though." Elena remarked annoyed.

"Well, just be patient. We'll be there soon." Katherine replied, her tone implying that she didn't feel like talking to Elena anymore and Elena understood, sitting back with a grumble.

Katherine just rolled her eyes and concentrated on driving again.

/

Stefan and Damon arrived at the mansion Rebekah inhabited and eagerly climbed the stairs to the front door. Hopefully they weren't too late.

Their drive had been in silence, since both brothers scolded themselves mentally for being so stupid.

Now they stood in front of Rebekah's white door. They rang the bell and glanced through the windows next to the door, looking if someone would come and answer the door.

They waited a couple of minutes when they finally heard someone coming down the stairs. Soon they saw Rebekah walking towards the door, rolling her eyes when she saw who rang the bell.

She opened the door with an annoyed face.

"What are you two doing here?"

"We need to talk to you about the Cure." Damon came straight to the point.

"What about it?" Rebekah asked, leaning against the door frame.

"Did you take it?" Stefan asked, afraid of the answer.

"Why?" Rebekah narrowed her eyes. "Is it another fake one?"

"We just want to know if you took it already." Stefan persisted, ignoring her question.

"I didn't take it yet. And it better not be fake when I do!" Rebekah threatened.

"Well, you're lucky. It's not fake." Damon smirked. "But you still can't take it."

"Oh?" Rebekah raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?"

"If you take the Cure your compulsion will be reversed and then Elena will remember what happened between her and Katherine and we can't let that happen." Damon explained.

"Then I guess you should maybe just start accepting that sweet saint Elena might be into girls." Rebekah grinned wickedly, causing the both man to growl at her.

"Seriously, you had to think of that sooner. But calm down." Rebekah laughed. "I'll take the Cure after the summer. Should be long enough for you to get rid of Katherine, right?"

The Salvatore's relaxed visibly, much to Rebekah's amusement.

"Why after the summer?" Stefan asked, wanting to make sure Rebekah said the truth.

"Not your business, but I'mma be nice. I'm gonna travel around the world with Matt and afterwards, if he still wants to be with me, I'll take the Cure. So, are you satisfied now? Because I would like to go back to the hot bath I just let in for me." She smiled sweetly at them and didn't even wait for another reaction before she closed the door and went back upstairs.

"Okay, that went better than I thought." Stefan let out a relieved breath.

"You can say that again." Damon agreed.

"Well, now we have to think of something to get rid of Katherine." Stefan mused while they walked back to their car.

"You got it, brother." Damon replied, taking a seat behind the wheel.

/

Katherine parked the car on a visitor parking lot near the path that led to her favorite spot in Mystic Falls. She had no idea why she brought Elena here.

It was _her _hill. It was so special to her. It was where she had kissed Elena for the first time.

Maybe this was the reason why she brought her here. Maybe she hoped the view would trigger something, bring back her memory and Elena would remember their kiss and growing love and would come back to her.

Katherine sighed and pulled the key out of the ignition.

"We're here." She said to the younger vampire who curiously looked at the trees outside.

"Where's here?" Came promptly the question from her doppelgänger.

"Somewhere… that means a lot to me." Katherine mumbled the last part under her breath, but Elena heard it anyways.

She shot Katherine a quick curious glance, but she had already got out of the car.

"What are you waiting for?" Katherine yelled, not even waiting for Elena as she already strutted over to the path she knew so well.

Elena quickly got out of the car, sprinting after Katherine, trying to keep up.

"Where are we going?" Elena demanded again.

"Gosh, just stop talking and follow me." Katherine replied annoyed and walked even faster.

Elena grumbled once again, causing Katherine to roll her eyes.

However, she kept her mouth shut and followed Katherine on the little path through the forest, admiring the tall trees and beautiful flowers that were growing next to it.

When the path began to steepen, Elena returned her gaze ahead and her eyes landed on Katherine's voluptuous ass. Her mouth went dry and she subconsciously licked her lips as she continued to check her out. Her eyes wandered up her body and Elena had to admit she looked hot.

But once she reached Katherine's curly hair she realized who she had been checking out and snapped back into reality. _What the hell is wrong with me?!_ Elena asked herself, crunching her face up in disgust at her own thoughts. She shook her head in shock and focused her gaze on the floor.

Suddenly the forest thinned out and they came to some sort of clearing, only it wasn't in the middle of the forest but at the top of a hill with an amazing view over Mystic Falls.

Elena was speechless for a moment. How come she had never been to this place? And how did Katherine find it? She glanced at the doppelgänger and found her looking at Mystic Falls with a far-away and somewhat sad look in her eyes.

_Why does it mean a lot to her? And why did she bring me here?_

Elena walked closer to the edge, taking everything in. It was truly beautiful. And although she was sure she had never been here, it felt like she had a déjà vu.

"This is beautiful." She turned around to find Katherine silently studying her.

"I know." Was the older vampire's only reply.

"How did you find it?" Elena asked curious.

"I found it in 1864 during one of my woodland strolls. It's my favorite place."

"Then why did you take me here?"

"I thought it would help you to remember." Katherine admitted honestly, keeping her eyes locked with Elena's.

"Why would it?" Elena asked confused.

"Because I took you here last night." Katherine revealed, causing Elena's eyes to widen.

Could it be true? Was this the reason she had a feeling of déjà vu?

"Is this why I feel like having a déjà vu?" Elena asked hesitantly.

"You do?" Katherine said surprised. Elena could see a gleam of hope appear in her eyes.

Elena nodded vaguely, returning her gaze to the view.

Katherine smiled to herself. Now she was glad she brought Elena here. Maybe it could help after all.

"Well, I'm glad to hear." A small smirk played around her lips. "I could tell you what happened here, but I think that would overwhelm you."

Elena just furrowed her brows and shot her an irritated look. However she didn't ask, since she was sure she didn't even want to know.

Katherine sat down on the soft grass and gestured Elena to do the same. The brunette hesitated at first as everything in her strove against sitting down next to Katherine, but in the end she did.

She nervously glanced at the vampire next to her before looking back at the town.

"You know, we had some nice days." Katherine suddenly interrupted the silence between them.

Elena's head snapped towards her and she snorted at Katherine. "Yeah sure."

"It's true." Katherine replied calmly, keeping her gaze ahead.

"I'm sorry, but I _hate_ you. How could we both had nice days _together_?" Elena asked malicious.

"You didn't hate me then." Katherine trailed off, picking at the grass underneath her hands.

"Do you even listen to yourself?" Elena shook her head unbelievingly at Katherine.

"We hang out together. We ate pizza and watched movies. During the horror movie you would cuddle up to me and hide behind my shoulder." Katherine continued, ignoring Elena's remark, smiling to herself at the memory.

Elena glared at her. "Why do you keep saying stuff like that? Stop it! I _HATE _you."

Nevertheless she was taken aback when Katherine turned towards her and she had actual tears in her eyes.

"Because it's fucking true, Elena." Her voice cracked slightly. "Wake up! I found out what they did to you. They gave Rebekah the Cure and she compelled you to hate me. Nothing of what you feel towards me right now is true." Katherine yelled, tears streaming down her face.

Elena just sat there stunned. She had never seen Katherine cry. She looked so vulnerable that Elena actually considered her words.

Did they really ask Rebekah to compel her?

"No." She shook her head. "No, they would never do something like that." Elena swallowed and weakly tried to defend the Salvatore's.

But Katherine's tears made it so hard to not believe her. And her feeling of déjà vu just added more believability to it.

Elena had no idea what to believe anymore.

"But why?" Elena whimpered.

"Because they were jealous. We started to get closer and they didn't like it." Katherine explained gently.

"Why?" Elena had now teared up as well and her voice was only a whisper.

"Because I fucking love you." Katherine suddenly yelled.

"And you started to feel something for me, too!


	18. Unexpected Help

**AN: ****I thought about letting Katherine's love declaration break the compulsion and get her Elena back, but I ****came up with another idea to keep this story going and interesting, which will be revealed towards the end. :b**

**And I love Katherine because she's so badass and sassy and here I am turning her in a totally OOC crybaby.. ._.**

**Well, enjoy t********he l****ongest chapter so far**.

**xx****x**

**ps. This chapter is set two weeks after the last one. **

* * *

Katherine sat on her bed, blankly staring at the wall. It had been two weeks since she declared her love to Elena and she hadn't seen or talked to her ever since.

She was too broken to do anything. She even had to force herself to get up and drink some blood, although she no longer saw any reason in staying alive for an eternity. Katherine knew she probably should leave town, but instead she just sat there in her small apartment and grieved about a girl, she thought could never been hers in the first place.

However, she could still feel Elena's lips on hers and smell her perfume. It was intoxicating and invaded her mind like a disease. Katherine hated herself so much for becoming this weak and vulnerable.

And all this just because of one fucking girl.

And not just any girl. She was her freaking doppelgänger for crying out loud.

But she just couldn't do anything against it. In her eyes Elena was her soulmate, the one she wanted to spend eternity with. Her old bitchy self would probably laugh at her and tell her what a fool she was for falling for her doppelgänger, but she just didn't care anymore.

All she wanted was Elena, but she was gone.

All Katherine had left were memories. But one downright haunted her since two weeks.

Since that one fated moment on the hill.

It replayed in her head over and over again as she stared at the empty wall in front of her.

/

Elena sat there stunned.

Katherine loved her. _Her_. Katherine Pierce loved her, Elena Gilbert.

How was this even possible?

But howsoever it was, Katherine's love declaration had stirred something deep inside of Elena and she couldn't help but feel all warm and fuzzy inside and almost giddy at Katherine's words.

She _loved_ her.

Katherine watched as a grin formed on Elena's lips.

"You love me?" Elena asked like a child.

Katherine bit her lip and nodded.

"How could someone like _you_ love someone like _me_?" Elena asked incredulous, all her hate for Katherine suddenly forgotten. All she could think about was that Katherine was in love with her.

It made her body tingle and butterflies appeared in her stomach. Her breath got heavier and Katherine's presence suddenly made her extremely nervous.

Katherine sat there now equally stunned like Elena. She would've never thought that her love declaration would have such an effect on Elena.

Did she finally get through to her? Would she get her Elena back? The one who was about to fall in love with her? The one she could hold and kiss?

Katherine smiled widely at the girl in front of her.

"How could I not love you? You're perfect. So beautiful and kind and smart and funny. Everyone would be lucky to be able to call you theirs and hold you in their arms. Fall asleep and wake up next to you. Surprise you with breakfast in bed and treat you like a princess. Exactly the way you deserve."

Katherine teared up some more as she saw a look of pure adoration appear in Elena's brown does.

Before Elena could interrupt her rambling she quickly continued.

"To protect you and never let anything bad ever happen to you again. Because you're so fucking precious Elena." Her voice cracked slightly. "I just want to keep you happy, make you laugh, hold you when you're sad and just be there for you." Katherine trailed off in a whisper, looking deeply into Elena's brown eyes, not even bothering to wipe her own tears away, but instead she reached out and carefully removed Elena's tears from her cheeks.

Elena's breath hitched at Katherine's touch. She closed her eyes at the soft touch and leaned into Katherine's hand.

The younger doppelgänger had trouble comprehending what just happened. She replayed Katherine's words in her head over and over again.

She couldn't help but smile at first, but then the realization of what Stefan and Damon had done to her hit her.

Her face fell and Katherine noticed, reluctantly pulling her hand back. She carefully studied Elena, wondering what went through her head.

Elena kept her eyes closed and as she thought about how Stefan and Damon apparently betrayed her and actually asked Rebekah to compel her to hate Katherine.

_How could they?_

Unfortunately, thinking about this reminded her of the compulsion, which she now realized, still lingered in the back of her mind and screamed at her to laugh at Katherine and mock her for her tears and this sappy love declaration.

She opened her watery eyes to look into exactly the same one's staring back at her. She could see hope and love, but also pain and insecurity in her doppelgänger's eyes.

Now that she knew the truth - and to her it was obvious that Katherine didn't lie - she tried her best to fight against the compulsion, only wanting to ease Katherine's pain and make her feel loved. Exactly the way Katherine had made her feel.

Even if it would only last for a short time.

She took a deep shaky breath as she contemplated her next move. Her eyes continued to study Katherine's beautiful face and once she was brave enough to act on her new-found feelings she put a hand behind Katherine's neck. She pulled her forward while closing her eyes and pressed her lips on Katherine's in a soft featherlight kiss.

Katherine's breath caught in her throat and she closed her eyes as her heart rate picked up. She gently returned the kiss while putting her hands on Elena's hips, pulling her closer.

She was floating on cloud nine right now. This was all she wanted. The feeling of Elena's soft pink lips on hers. Feeling her body so close to her. Listening to her rapid heartbeat.

She slowly pulled back for an unneeded breath, resting her forehead against Elena's. Their eyes were still closed and both girls had a smile forming on their identical lips.

/

Katherine actually managed a weak smile at this part of the memory. She had been so sure that she got through the compulsion. They way Elena looked at her, the kiss they shared. It had spurred on her hope for their reunion, only to get her heart crushed into millions of pieces.

She tried to hold in a sob that threatened to escape her lips which she pressed together in a hard line. Nevertheless she didn't cry. Her eyes were red and puffy, but dry. She had no more tears to share. She was empty inside. Just a hollow shell of herself.

With a sullen look she remembered the last part of this awful memory.

/

But suddenly everything changed.

Katherine had no idea about the war in Elena's mind. The younger girl had tried so hard to fight the compulsion, but Rebekah was an Original and her powers were strong. So no matter how deep Katherine's love declaration affected her, she could only fight it for so long. Even the kiss didn't disperse it. She wanted it so badly, but she could feel the hate already sipping back into her mind.

Elena abruptly pulled back from Katherine. She didn't want to hurt her, but she knew she would have to sooner or later. Therefore she decided to push her away. Send her away. Use the time before the hate controlled her mind once again.

Katherine stared at her wide eyed, making her feel even worse.

"I-I'm sorry. I c-can't..." She choked up.

Katherine shook her head, eyes wide with fear of rejection.

"No, Elena, please. You have to fight it. For me, please." Katherine pleaded desperately, causing more tears to run down Elena's cheeks.

"I-I t-tried." Elena sobbed, taking Katherine's face into her hands.

"Elena…" Katherine whispered, trailing off.

"It's t-too s-strong, Kat. You h-have to let m-me go." Elena cried, stroking Katherine's face.

"No, please. I love you. You can fight it." Katherine exclaimed as a last try to save Elena. But she could see the hate already returning into her eyes.

She clutched at Elena's wrist, begging for her to fight.

It broke Elena's heart, but she had to ignore it.

"An Original compelled me, Katherine. It's too strong for an ordinary baby vamp like me." Elena said jokingly, actually managing to keep her voice from stuttering.

Katherine opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Instead only a small whimper escaped her.

Elena quickly pressed another kiss to her lips. This might be the last chance she get to feel and taste Katherine's soft lips on hers ever again.

Afterwards she pressed another quick kiss to Katherine's forehead.

"I l-l…" Elena tried to confess her true feelings, but she couldn't even say the L-word anymore.

"I love you, too." Katherine whispered, knowing exactly what Elena wanted to say and it teared her heart apart, knowing that the compulsion prevented her of doing so.

"Go." Elena suddenly pulled her hands back and Katherine watched in horror as her eyes began to darken.

Katherine shook her head and reached out again, only to get her hands slapped away by Elena.

"GO." Elena yelled angrily, tears streaming down her face, but slowly subsiding. She couldn't stand seeing Katherine anymore.

The older vampire's body trembled and she bit her lip while she stared at the Elena who was full of hate again. Elena's eyes were blazing with anger as she yelled at her and Katherine reluctantly backed off, never taking her eyes off of Elena, until she reached the tree line. With one last longing look at Elena, she turned around and sped back to her car.

/

Katherine closed her eyes. She pushed the nails of her right hand into her left forearm, deep enough to draw blood. But it gave her only little relief of the excruciating pain she was feeling in her chest.

And although other vampires would have already turned off their humanity, it hadn't crossed Katherine's mind once in the last two weeks. She was too busy to mourn to actually to do something against it.

Elena had told her to let her go, but Katherine doesn't do what other people tell her to do and even if she would try to, she just couldn't let her go.

She was too deep down the dark hole of love.

Sometimes she would find herself thinking about Elena and what she might had done during those two weeks.

_Did she go back to Damon? Did she do things with him that she could've done with me?_

It made her mad to no-end and she thought about taking revenge on the Salvatore's. Just like she promised them. Still she made absolutely no move to get up from her bed and go over to their house to hurt them like they had hurt her with that compulsion. But she knew there was no way to hurt them that way.

Killing them would only push Elena even further away.

No, she preferred staying here and wallow in self-pity. And waiting for… for what exactly? For Elena turning up, being out of compulsion and finally wanting her back?

Katherine opened her eyes and let out a humorless chuckle. Yeah, sure.

She slid down the headboard of the bed and laid down on her back, staring at the grey ceiling now.

It's not like she had anything better to do.

/

Elena laid on her bed, staring at the ceiling once again thinking about her doppelgänger. She hadn't seen Katherine since two weeks. Since she told her to let her go. Elena remembered everything of that night. And she could feel the small pang it left on her heart, but her hate consumed the rest of her mind and body.

Since two weeks she didn't feel like doing anything but staying in her room. Every then and now she tried again to fight the compulsion and then look for Katherine, but it didn't quite work. More than once she had a mental breakdown and just laid under her covers, crying herself to sleep.

She also had avoided the Salvatore Brother's for the last two weeks. She didn't even confronted them about the compulsion. She was sick and tired of them trying to save her and their lame apologies afterwards.

A very small voice in the back of her head told her that Katherine would do a much better job at that and even without having to compel her.

The compulsion made her feel happy about the fact that Katherine obviously left and stopped fighting for her, but deep down it hurt her instead, to know that Katherine gave up on her.

The brunette still couldn't remember what had happened between them, but the teary love declaration led her to believe that it had been serious between the two of them. Still, knowing the truth didn't change a thing to the compulsion.

Rebekah told her to have no love in her body towards Katherine so there was no love. No matter how much she might wanted it.

/

Stefan and Damon were confused about Elena's behavior. She didn't answer their calls nor did she open the door, although they could hear her.

They wondered what had happened and it hurt them to stand in front of her house and hear her cry without being able to comfort her.

Not once occurred Katherine to them. Where was she? How is she? Did she leave? They didn't care, they were both too busy being worried about Elena. They didn't even know that Katherine found out about the compulsion.

Caroline asked them more than once to ask Rebekah to reverse the compulsion, but they were too stubborn to accept their mistake and failure.

They just couldn't accept the fact that they aren't able to keep Elena happy anymore and it definitely scratched at their huge egos. They tried to deny the fact that now Katherine was the only one who could make Elena happy.

Besides, Rebekah and Matt already left a week ago, since summer break had begun. Not that they told Caroline that. She only knew that Matt had left to travel around the world with someone, but that certain someone was kept secret, which bothered her to no-end.

.

The blonde vampire herself was slowly but steadily consumed by her guilt. She knew she had to talk to Elena, but once she gathered enough courage to actually go to her house, she was met with the same not-opening door.

Due to what Stefan and Damon had told her about the day two weeks ago, Elena had been fine after Katherine left. But shortly after, the Salvatore's had left, too, so Caroline was sure there had happened something else on that day and Elena obviously refused to talk about it.

The blonde vampire often wondered whether Katherine had come back later that day and was the real reason Elena stayed in her room.

_If she did, then what had happened between them?_

She remembered how happy Elena had been at the grocery store and how miserable she was now. Although she hated to admit it, Katherine did Elena good. She had made her smile and happy and now Elena was just miserable and hiding herself away, even while being compelled to hate Katherine.

Compelling Elena was the worst idea the Salvatore's ever had and Caroline scolded herself for the fact that she had done nothing to stop them.

It killed her inside, knowing it was also kind of her fault that Elena locked herself away.

Then it finally occurred to her that she never thought about how Katherine might feel. Not once. But today, as Caroline paced her room thinking about what could've happened that day, she remembered that there actually was a second person who might feel miserable. _Katherine_.

_"_Oh my god." Caroline exclaimed out loud and stopped pacing.

She slapped herself against the forehead. _How could I forget about Katherine's feeling? If Elena is compelled to hate her and acts like this, then how bad has it to be for Katherine?_

Caroline started pacing again, a frown forming on her face._ Where is she anyway?_ _Should I look for her? Should I talk to her or would that make it only worse? Oh, fuck it. It's already worse._

Determined she grabbed her jacket and keys and left her house.

/

Katherine still laid on her bed, not having moved a single inch. However, her sulking was suddenly interrupted with rapid knocking on her door.

She flinched, having not expected someone to knock at her door. She doubted it was anyone she knew, since it had been two weeks since the events with Elena and the Salvatore's. She was sure that everyone thought she had left town again.

Therefore she decided to ignore it and returned her gaze back to the ceiling. The person in front of her door was persistent, though. The knocking sounded again through Katherine's apartment.

She kept ignoring it until she heard an actually familiar voice yell through the door.

"Katherine?" Caroline's annoying voice rang through the door.

Katherine sat up in surprise and narrowed her eyes at the door. _What is Blondie doing here?_

"C'mon. I know you're in there! I can hear you." Caroline shouted exasperatedly.

Although Katherine was surprised and curious to why Caroline was here, she didn't feel like getting up and face that perky blonde.

With a huff she let herself fall back into her soft pillows.

"Go away!" She yelled back at the girl.

"No! We need to talk." Came the response.

Katherine let out a dry chuckle.

"No, we don't. Just leave me alone."

Caroline gulped at Katherine's tired tone. It sounded so much different, so much weaker, than she was used to from the usually strong vampire. She had been right when she thought about Elena not being the only one to feel miserable. Katherine was in the same situation. Even though she was the main reason for this mess, Caroline couldn't help but feel pity for Katherine.

But now she was here, ready to help Katherine get Elena back, because she finally realized that they belonged together. The thing they had was not just some evil scheme from Katherine. Their misery right now only confirmed this.

She also realized that both doppelgängers shared a connection that unfortunately had not enough time to become strong enough to fight against the compulsion of an Original.

Nevertheless, Caroline was convinced the older vampire would probably be better for Elena than the Salvatore's could ever be. She already had seen a small glimpse of their love and Elena seemed happier than she had been in a long time.

So, no matter how hard it's gonna be, Katherine just had to suck it up for now and get her head out of her ass. Now she even had Caroline to help her. But first of all, she had to open the door.

"Open up or I'll kick in your door." Caroline threatened, causing Katherine to narrow her eyes at the door again.

"You wouldn't dare." Her voice lacked the old venom, but still sounded dangerous.

"Ohh, I would. Don't underestimate me, Katherine." Caroline didn't care. She wanted to see her best friend happy again and if that meant she needed to get her back together with Katherine, then so be it.

"What do you even want?" Katherine said more to herself than to Caroline, but the other vampire still heard it.

"I'll tell you when you open the door."

Katherine huffed and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. For a second she contemplated to just stay sitting there, but something told her the blonde vampire would really kick in her door.

She finally got up on her legs and strutted over to the door, yanking it open. She was met with the sight of Caroline whose eyes widened in shock.

"Oh my…" She trailed off.

"What?" Katherine snapped.

"You look horrible." Caroline said bluntly.

"Why, thanks." Katherine rolled her eyes and turned around, leaving the door open in a silent invite.

Caroline understood and followed her, gently closing the door behind her.

She then stood awkwardly in front of the bed, where Katherine once again sat on. Katherine really looked horrible with her red puffy eyes, no make-up and her hair looked like it hadn't seen a brush for the last two weeks. She even wore loose clothing, not the usually tight fitting tops or skinny jeans.

Caroline didn't realize she stared until Katherine cleared her throat and stared at her expectantly.

"So?"

"Uhm.." Caroline cleared her throat awkwardly and fidgeted her hands, causing Katherine to roll her eyes.

"I thought you wanted to talk."

"I do!" Caroline said quickly.

"Well, go on." Katherine gestured her to continue.

"Alright. What happened between you and Elena two weeks ago?" Caroline asked curious, leading Katherine to raise her brows at her.

"What do you mean?" Katherine replied suspiciously.

"I mean that Elena locked herself away in her room ever since the day Rebekah comp…" Caroline abruptly stopped talking, her eyes widening at Katherine who narrowed her eyes at her. _Oops. _

Caroline wasn't sure if Katherine already knew or not, but telling her she let it happen might not be helpful.

"Just in case you're wondering, I _know _that Rebekah compelled Elena to hate me." Katherine pushed out through gritted teeth while she slowly came closer to Caroline, who in return shrank back in fear.

"I'm h-here to help you." Caroline stuttered, hoping Katherine wouldn't kill her.

"With what? Leaving town?" Katherine snickered bitterly.

"No, that's not what I meant. I was there when they compelled Ele…" Caroline was cut off when Katherine suddenly grabbed her by her throat and pushed her against the wall.

"You where there, huh? You were part of this whole compel-Elena-to-hate-me plot and you still dare to come here and offer me your help?" Katherine said angrily, her voice dripping with her typical venom. The nerve this blonde chick had got her into a rage she never had been in.

"I-I knew it w-was wrong." Caroline coughed and clutched at Katherine's hand which held her throat.

"Don't lie to me. I know you didn't like the image of me and Elena being together. I could see it in your eyes back then at the grocery store." Katherine said, tightening her grip.

All her bottled up feelings like hurt, anger and pain got the best of her and now she would take it all out on poor Caroline.

"And to answer your question, Elena had searched for me that day and _found _me. She wanted to talk because she couldn't remember a thing and at the end of our little talk I declared my love to her and I'll tell you what… I came through that fucking compulsion and we actually kissed. But that compulsion was too strong for her so in the end she broke my heart by pushing me away and telling me to let her go."

Her grip was so tight now, that Caroline was close to passing out. She could barely breathe and black spots danced in her peripheral vision.

"T-that… w-was then… b-but now… I…" Caroline coughed, fighting the tears that threatened to spill.

"But now what, huh?" Katherine asked furious.

"K-katherine… please." Caroline tried one last time. She should've known that Katherine would also be extremely angry.

She stared into Katherine's raging eyes, silently pleading her to stop and listen to her. Katherine kept their eyes locked and saw Caroline's plead. She was so close to killing the girl that she almost didn't care.

But the better part of her told her to listen to what she had to say. Her bad part told her she still could kill her afterwards.

In the end Katherine let her throat go, causing Caroline to drop to the floor, where she lay in a coughing mess, cradling her sore throat.

Katherine strutted back to the bed and plopped down on it, facing the blonde vampire who was still on the floor.

"Talk. You have one chance to convince me or I'll kill you."

Caroline's head snapped up and she stared at Katherine in shock. She had to think of something. Fast.

"Uhm.. first of all.." Caroline cleared her throat once more. "First of all, I know compelling Elena was the worst mistake we could've ever done."

Her voice was still husky from Katherine's assault on her throat.

"You don't say." Katherine remarked sarcastically, but Caroline ignored her.

"However, Elena didn't talk to anyone since that day and locks herself away at home. She's avoiding everyone including the Salvatore's and I know she's crying most of the time."

Caroline could see Katherine's shoulders slump and her angry gaze soften at this information. She obviously felt for Elena and it only encouraged Caroline in her talking.

"And you're right. I might didn't like it at the beginning, but I've come to the realization that you and Elena belong together. You did good to Elena. She was happy." Caroline smiled at Katherine, who sat there dumbfounded, her eyes wide and glistening with sudden tears.

"I think you two have some special connection and it just hadn't had enough time to grow strong enough to fight against the compulsion of an Original. Moreover…" Caroline licked her lips, wondering if she should tell her. "I-I… kind of feel like you would be better to her than the Salvatore's could ever be."

Caroline gulped as a tear left Katherine's eye and Katherine stared at her unbelievingly. She was taken aback by Katherine's open display of emotion. She never had seen the _big bad_ Katherine Pierce cry. It was surreal. But Caroline quickly composed herself, before she pissed Katherine off again.

"So, that is why I am here. I wanna help you get Elena back. Because although she's compelled to hate you, she's a miserable mess and hurting and I know helping _you_ will help her, too."

Caroline finally finished, silently studying Katherine for a reaction. Katherine sat there stunned. Her rage was gone, instead she was genuinely surprised at the blonde vampire's little speech.

It surprisingly even moved her to tears and she stifled a small sob.

"Thank you." She whispered softly.

She looked at Caroline with sincere appreciation. Caroline just smiled and gave a small nod.

"So, you got any plans?" Caroline asked eagerly and clapped her hands together, trying to change the mood. This emotional Katherine made her kind of uncomfortable. She almost liked the rude and bitchy Katherine better.

But Katherine just rolled her eyes at the eager blonde.

"No, I don't. If my love declaration couldn't help then what could?" Katherine asked bitterly.

"Rebekah." Caroline said promptly.

"Like she would help us." Katherine let out a dry chuckle and ran her hand through her messy hair.

"I'm sure we'll find a way to get her to reverse the compulsion." Caroline said confidently.

"She already has the Cure. What else could she want?" Katherine exclaimed.

Caroline thought about this for a short moment. She already had something in mind. She didn't like it, but she guessed Elena was more important now.

"Love." Caroline answered. Katherine only raised her eyebrows, waiting if Caroline would add to that.

The blonde vampire sighed and hid her closed eyes behind her hand.

"Matt." She finally revealed to Katherine, who now smirked. She could work with that.

"The one with the pretty eyes." Katherine clicked her tongue. "Good taste."

"Shut up." Caroline glared at her, causing her to snicker.

"So, what do you suggest? Compelling him? Because he didn't seem fond of me and Elena either."

"No. I have the feeling he already likes her."

"Well, that's helpful." Katherine said, ignoring Caroline's obvious discomfort with this fact. She had no time for such a Teenie Drama. She wanted Elena back. As fast as possible.

"Let's talk to him."

"Well…" Caroline began hesitantly. "There's a teeny tiny problem."

"What?" Katherine narrowed her eyes at the nervous blonde.

"He's out of town. I don't know where he went or with whom. But Stefan told me he's traveling the world with someone and he wouldn't tell me who…. oh my god." Caroline's eyes widened and she gaped at Katherine, who glared at her since the mention of Matt being out of town.

"What now?" Katherine asked impatiently. This girl could really be annoying.

"Rebekah! He's traveling with Rebekah. I'm sure of it."

"Hmm, would make sense. Then it was probably his house I saw Rebekah coming out from." Katherine mused, ignoring Caroline who shot her an surprised look.

"Well, I guess that means just one thing, huh?" Katherine smirked at Caroline.

"And that is?" Caroline asked tentatively.

"Road trip." Katherine simply said, still smirking.

Caroline gulped. A road trip with Katherine? What had she just gotten herself into?

/

After Katherine had changed into her typical black skintight jeans and a dark blue top and packed some things she needed they drove to Caroline's place so she could pack, too. Since Caroline had come to Katherine's apartment with her own car and Katherine insisted that they take her Porsche for their road trip, they drove separately.

Katherine parked in front of Caroline's house and waited in her car, not bothering to help the blonde to pack.

Twenty long minutes later Caroline finally exited her house with a rather big purple suitcase and another small bag in her hands, causing Katherine to roll her eyes and roll down the window.

"You know it's a roadtrip not a fashion show?" Katherine shouted mockingly.

"Shut up. I just need a lot of things." Caroline snapped back.

"Well, too bad there's not enough space in my car for that." Katherine faked a sad face.

Caroline stopped walking and stood there pouting, but then suddenly her pout turned into a smirk.

"Don't worry, we're not taking your car." She pulled out a key and pushed a button, opening the trunk of her Ford Fiesta, which was obviously not big enough for huge suitcases either.

"I thought we already agreed on taking my car." Katherine pushed out, anger clearly visible on her face.

"True. But I changed my mind." Caroline grunted while trying to heave her suitcase into her trunk.

"But I didn't." Katherine growled. "So take that small bag of yours and get your ass into _my_ car."

"No." Caroline turned around and crossed her arms over her chest, looking at Katherine competitively.

"No?" Katherine repeated incredulous, raising her brows.

"No." Caroline confirmed. "Because your car is just a two seater."

Katherine was taken aback by Caroline's statement. She furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Don't tell me you have a problem with me sitting right next to you."

"Geez, no." Caroline huffed. "But I decided we're taking someone else with us."

Her cheeky I-know-something-and-you-don't-smile was really testing Katherine's patience.

"What? Who?" Katherine asked confused and slightly angered. Who could Blondie want to take with them? And who even _allowed _her to? It better not be Bonnie or Katherine would go alone.

"Just trust me. It will definitely be advantageous to us."

Still, Katherine made no move to get out of her car and just stared at Caroline like a child who just got denied to have his favorite candy.

"Don't look at me like that. Get out and put your bags in here." Caroline said and threw her own bag on the backseat for emphasis.

Eventually Katherine got out and grabbed her own two bags, grumbling the whole time. Caroline stood there grinning proudly that Katherine actually did what she told her to do.

"Wipe that grin off your face before I do it for you." Katherine threatened and took a menacing step forward.

"Woah, relax!" Caroline instinctively stepped back.

"You know that when we're taking someone else with us that your car is too small, too, right?" Katherine asked, looking at the already full trunk.

"I know. That's why we're going to take the car of the one that'll come with us." Caroline replied matter-of-factly.

Then she went to the driver's side only to be stopped by Katherine's voice.

"I'll drive."

"You can drive once we actually _leave_ Mystic Falls. But first I'll drive us to our new… companion." Caroline said, taking place behind the wheel, not even bothering to wait for another objection Katherine might had.

"It better be someone truthfully helpful, otherwise I'll leave without you." Katherine growled, but Caroline just ignored her and took of towards their next destination.

/

"ELENA?" Katherine yelled at Caroline, staring at her like she went totally insane.

"Yup." Caroline replied calmly. She expected Katherine's reaction so it was no surprise when the brunette started to yell at her once she realized who Caroline wanted to take with them on their road trip.

Caroline had parked in front of Elena's house and Katherine recognized it immediately. In her eyes Caroline went nuts for considering to take Elena with them.

Did she forget that Elena hated Katherine right now? How would they survive jammed together in a small car?

"You know she hates me?" Katherine stared at Caroline in disbelief.

"Yup." Caroline said again, popping the 'p'. "But you also know that we're going on this road trip to find Rebekah to reverse her compulsion, right?"

"Yes.." Katherine trailed off, narrowing her eyes. _Where is she going with this?_

"Well, how can she reverse it if Elena's not there? And I doubt she's gonna be happy to interrupt her vacation for us." Caroline revealed her plan, grinning proudly as she watched Katherine's eyes widen and a look of understanding appearing on her face. _Damnit. She's right._

"Well done, Blondie. Didn't think about that." Katherine admitted.

"Why thank you." Caroline sticked out her tongue, causing Katherine to roll her eyes.

This girl made Katherine roll her eyes so often, she was surprised they didn't hurt yet.

"Then go and get her. I'm waiting here." Katherine said and demonstratively turned to look out of the window.

Caroline only shook her head and smiled a little at Katherine's antics. Then she exited the car without another word to the older vampire and walked over to Elena's front door, hoping she would open it this time.

.

Elena was actually about to leave her room, but only because she was starving. So she dragged herself down the stairs and into the kitchen, where she opened the fridge, which was once again empty.

During the two weeks she would always have some kind of snack attack and raid the whole kitchen. The fact that it was filled with all kinds of food made her realize once more that Katherine said the truth about them going to the grocery store.

Now she had eaten everything alone, although it didn't even satisfied her hunger. The only thing that she now had in her fridge were blood bags, which Stefan and Damon would drop at her doormat.

She hated and liked it at the same time. Hated it, because they treated her like she couldn't feed herself. Liked it, because she didn't need to leave the house.

Howsoever, now she stood there only a top and boy shorts and waited for the microwave to finish heating up her cup of blood, when suddenly the door bell rang.

"Elena? Please open the door." She heard Caroline yell.

But Elena didn't react and just ignored it. She didn't feel like talking to anyone. Besides, they usually left as soon as they realized she wasn't going to open the door. She was glad they didn't just come in and tried to get her to talk or go outside. For the first time even the Salvatore's left her alone and it was surprisingly refreshing and even though she won't leave the house, she felt free and not constantly constricted.

"Elena, please. It's really important."

Nevertheless, Caroline was persistent this time. The bell rang again and it seemed like she lost her self-control, because suddenly the bell wouldn't stop ringing anymore.

_Ding._

Elena rolled her eyes at the never stopping ringing and opened the microwave, grabbing the steaming cup of blood.

"I can hear that you're in the kitchen. C'mon, open the door."

Elena continued to ignore her friend and instead took a small sip of the hot blood, closing her eyes at the taste. She had to pull herself together to not chug it down in one big gulp. Then she turned and walked towards the stairs, set on ignoring Caroline until she said something that made her freeze in her tracks.

"Katherine's with me."

Elena stood there frozen, staring at her front door. She strained her ears, but could only hear Caroline's regular breathing and steady heartbeat. She was alone.

"You're lying." Elena said with a raspy voice. She hadn't talked once during those two weeks.

"I'm not. She's waiting in the car."

Elena was suddenly torn between running upstairs and hiding underneath her covers and opening the door to see if Caroline said the truth. Because that would mean that Katherine is still in town and didn't leave like she assumed.

Elena glanced at her steaming mug and then chugged it down with one gulp, putting the now empty cup on the cupboard next to her.

She put on a emotionless and bored expression as she strutted over to the door and opened it to reveal her blonde best friend, who raised her brows in surprise.

Elena could see in her eyes that Caroline hadn't expected that she would actually open the door.

Not bothering to greet her, she glanced behind Caroline and indeed.

There was someone on the passengers seat in her car. She couldn't see the face since the windows were tinted, but something told her it was really Katherine and it made her heart beat faster.

She returned her eyes to Caroline, who studied her silently, with a small smile on her lips.

"How are you?" She asked softly.

"I'm fine." Elena replied stoic. "So what are you doing here with her?"

"We're here to pick you up." Caroline said eagerly, leading Elena to raise her eyebrows in suspicion.

"For what? And why are you with Katherine?"

"For a road trip!"

"A what?" Elena's eyes seemed to bulge out and she looked at Caroline the same way Katherine had done when she realized they were at Elena's house.

"A road trip. You, me and Katherine." Caroline grinned cheekily.

"I'm sorry Care, but I'm _not_ gonna go on a road trip with _her_." Elena nodded her head towards the car where Katherine sat with slumped shoulders, unseen to the other two vampires.

"Yes you are!" Caroline replied stubbornly. "We're on the mission to find Rebekah and make her reverse the compulsion so you and Katherine can be happy again."

Elena tilted her head and stared at Caroline in disbelief. _Did she really just say that?!_

She tried to open her mouth to object, but Caroline was faster.

"Hop hop, you have to pack!" She grabbed her arm and pulled her up the stairs.

"Oh and we need to take your car! Mine is too small for all our things." Caroline said, shushing Elena when she wanted to disagree.

With a groan she rushed up the stairs and into her room and started to throw random things into her blue suitcase.

Although Elena had tried to defend herself, she secretly was excited to go on a road trip with her best friend and Katherine. And she couldn't help but get even more excited when she thought about Rebekah reversing her compulsion.

Oh yes, she was definitely going on that road trip and she was gonna get her life back.

Even if that meant sharing a car with Katherine while she still hated her.

.

Half an hour later Elena was finally ready and she hauled her two bags on her back as she tried to keep up with Caroline who walked to her car with fast strides.

While Elena opened her SUV and put her suitcase into the big trunk, Caroline knocked against the window where Katherine sat and stared at Elena.

"Get out and put your stuff into Elena's car. I'm not your slave."

Katherine's head snapped towards her and she shot her a deadly glare, but otherwise said nothing.

She climbed out the car, nervous about seeing Elena for the first time since two weeks.

She walked around the car, got her own bags and then turned to walk over to Elena's SUV when she froze in her tracks as she was met with Elena, who stood there, watching her.

"Hey." She croaked out as a big lump suddenly appeared in her throat. Katherine was overwhelmed with emotions as she looked at the girl she had fallen for so deeply.

Elena was overwhelmed with feelings herself and she managed only a small 'Hi' in return. When it got too much for her she quickly opened the door of her car, but before she could climb into the driver's seat Caroline stopped her.

"Wait! Katherine's driving."

"What? No way I'm gonna let her drive my car. Bad enough she has to be in it." Elena exclaimed disgustedly.

Katherine ran her hands through her curly hair as she quickly tried to compose herself and then took a step forward.

"I'm driving. You have no idea where to go. So deal with it." Katherine said, trying to keep her voice emotionless.

"But you have or what?" Elena scoffed.

"Of course. I always do." Katherine smirked at her.

"Elena, come on. You can sit shotgun if you want." Caroline suggested.

"No thanks." Elena said, yanking the backseat door open. "I'll sit in the backseat."

She closed the door with a loud thud, avoiding any other eye contact with the other two women.

Katherine sighed and with a last glance at Caroline, who just shrugged her shoulders, she finally climbed into the driver's seat.

"Keys?" She asked, turning around to face Elena.

Elena threw the keys at Katherine, who caught them with an eye roll.

"Ready?" She asked, keeping her eyes on the street.

"Yes!" Came the eager reply of the blonde vampire next to her. Elena kept her mouth shut.

Once she put the keys into the ignition and started the engine, she risked a small glance into the rearview mirror. She could see Elena sitting behind her, a grumpy and pouty look on her face and staring out of the window.

Well this would be certainly an interesting and exciting road trip.


	19. Plane, Porsche & Pasta

**AN: Quick note that I rewrote the end of the last chapter. I remembered Elena was actually the one with the bigger car, so I changed that. But now I realize it's not even important since they are already on the plane at the beginning of this chapter. **

* * *

Quiet murmurs filled the plane as people held conversations with the one sitting next to them. Paper rustling could be heard from various magazines being looked through and music was coming out of headphones.

More than once curious glances were thrown towards the last row of seats in the back. In this specific row sat three young girls on their first trip to Europe.

Well, for two of them it was the first.

Those curious glances were caused because two of those girls seemed to be identical twins. However, you could tell them apart because of their hair. Although both had beautiful brown hair, one had it straight while the other had it curly.

It was not everyday you saw two so beautiful identical twins, so everyone on the plane within sight turned their head once in a while to steal a glance at them.

The girls recognized those glances, but chose to ignore them. As long as no one tried to talk to them everything was fine.

Between them sat a blonde girl, clearly annoyed by those constant glances.

"Gosh, they act like they never have seen twins before."

Caroline rolled her eyes and continued to skim through some gossip magazine. Katherine to her right chuckled.

"Maybe they haven't."

"It's still annoying." Caroline muttered.

Katherine let out another chuckle before she returned to her own magazine. Elena sat on Caroline's left and just kept staring out of the window, excited to go to Europe for the first time ever in her life.

/

After the girls had left Mystic Falls the tension in the car had been thick. To try and lift the mood, Caroline had turned on the radio. At first it didn't help much, but after a while everyone relaxed and she begun to quietly hum along the songs.

When they passed a road sign showing the way to the airport Caroline was suddenly reminded of the fact that Matt wanted to travel _the world_. That could only mean that him and Rebekah probably left the states and are somewhere in Europe, Asia or even Australia.

She abruptly sat up in her seat and yelled at Katherine to pull over, which she had done with a confused glare at the blonde vampire.

After Caroline had explained the situation, Katherine couldn't keep in a loud groan which led Elena to mock her.

"Now you don't have a plan anymore, huh?"

Katherine turned around in her seat, raising her eyebrows and stared at Elena unbelievingly.

"Excuse me?"

"Don't play dumb. You heard me." Elena replied coldly.

"Well too bad, I still have a plan." Katherine scoffed at Elena and turned back towards Caroline who watched them with an amused look on her face.

"You got your phone?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Call Matt and ask him where they are…"

"That is your plan?" Elena interrupted Katherine.

"_Yes_. Got a problem with that?" Katherine snarled.

"Just wondering how long it took you to figure that one out?" She mocked Katherine.

Katherine shot her a threatening glare, but it fazed Elena not in the slightest.

"You got a better one, smartass?"

Katherine smirked at her doppelgänger when Elena just gritted her teeth and sat back with a huff.

"Thought so." Katherine smirked and turned back around to face Caroline who now held her phone in her hand.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Call him!"

"And what should I tell him? 'Hey Matt, just calling to ask you _Where are you?_'"? Caroline asked sarcastically.

"That would be a good idea, yes." Katherine said in the same sarcastic tone.

After shooting one last glare towards Katherine, Caroline finally dialed Matt's number, drumming her fingers against her knee as she waited for him to pick up. To her surprise he actually answered and after a few minutes of small talk she had the information they needed.

Katherine of course heared every single word and immediately after Matt had told Caroline where they currently were, she started the engine and took off towards the airport, where they compelled themselves tickets for the next plane that went to Europe.

_Italy_ to be exact.

That was where Rebekah had taken Matt and it was also the reason why they now sat on a plane, a thirteen hours flight ahead of them.

/

Even though they weren't on the road for that long, Caroline's nerves were already quite frayed. She hadn't thought a road trip with both doppelgängers would be this exhausting. Once the first tension was solved they were constantly teasing and taunting each other and their bickering seemed to have no end.

To avoid any fist fights or else on the plane, Caroline had sat down between them. She hoped with her in the middle they would finally stop with their yapping.

Right now it was actually surprisingly quiet between Katherine and Elena, since both were busy with other things. Katherine had her magazine and Elena the window.

But there were still thirteen hours left and Caroline doubted this peacefulness would last.

And she was right.

.

It didn't take long until Elena got bored by the view out of the plane window and turned around to face Caroline and Katherine.

"I'm bored."

"Then read something. Here." Caroline said, offering Elena her magazine. But Elena shook her head.

"I don't want yours. I want hers." She nodded towards Katherine, who looked up in surprise.

"What? Why?" Caroline exclaimed exasperatedly.

"Because I want it." Elena replied stubbornly, causing Katherine to roll her eyes.

"Well, too bad, little doppelgänger. I'm still reading it." Katherine remarked.

But Elena had promised herself that if she had to go on a roadtrip with Katherine, she would constantly taunt her and make this trip some kind of living hell for her.

Therefore she quickly leaned forward and snatched the magazine out of Katherine's hands.

"Hey! Give it back." Katherine shouted angrily.

"No."

"Elena." Katherine growled menacingly. But Elena just stuck her tongue out at her and opened the magazine.

"Shh, could you please stop shouting." Caroline tried to calm them down. People were already starting to look at them and it made her feel kind of embarrassed.

She felt like the doppelgängers were twelve year old twins and she was their babysitter. It was really annoying.

"But she.." Katherine started, but got cut off by Caroline.

"Geez, what are you? Twelve? Just let her read it." Caroline snapped at Katherine. She was really fed up with them. Couldn't they just behave like the mature adults they were supposed to be?

Katherine's jaw dropped open slightly as she glared at Caroline. _Seriously?_

"Fine." Katherine finally pushed out through gritted teeth. "I hope you'll be happy with your _stolen_ magazine."

"Yes, I will. Thank you." Elena replied with such innocence, it made Katherine almost pounce on her, but a hand on her chest, preventing her from leaning forward any further and another glare from the blonde vampire between them stopped her.

Katherine let out an annoyed groan and settled back in her seat. She was tempted to get out her headphones and listen to music or maybe watch one of the movies they were showing on the plane TV, but she was sure that once Elena spotted them she would steal them, too.

So she might as well just get some rest. She rummaged through her bag and pulled out the black sleep mask, which the stewardess gave her, when they had entered the plane.

"You're gonna sleep?" Caroline asked, when she saw what Katherine held in her hands.

"Yep. Trying to get some rest from some _very annoying people_." Katherine answered, emphasizing the last three words with a meaningful look towards Elena, who acted like she didn't hear anything.

Caroline snickered. "Well then. Goodnight."

"Thanks." Katherine replied shortly and put the mask on. She leaned back and tried to get comfortable in her seat.

.

She was halfway off to slumberland when suddenly someone roughly pushed past her legs, not even bothering to be careful.

She yanked the sleep mask off and was met with the cruel smirk of her doppelgänger.

"What are you doing?" Katherine snarled, trying to keep her voice low.

"I need to use the restroom." Elena snarled back.

"Then watch where you're going." Katherine growled, settling back down and putting the mask back on.

Caroline groaned at Elena's antics and kept her eyes on the younger doppelgänger in case she was going to do something else. A few sends ago, Elena had suddenly raised herself and carefully passed by Caroline, but then roughly pushed against Katherine's leg. It was more than obvious that she had done this on purpose. Although it was kind of funny seeing Elena being like this towards Katherine and Katherine not really being able to defend herself, afraid she would hurt Elena, Caroline felt also bad for Katherine. So when Elena now stood next to the oblivious brunette, ready to flick her finger against Katherine's forehead she stepped in.

"Elena don't!" Caroline exclaimed, causing Katherine to lift the mask slightly and glance past it.

She was met with the sight of a slender finger right in front of her face and with one fast motion she grabbed it.

"Try that one more time and I'll break your finger." Katherine glared at Elena.

Elena yanked her finger out of Katherine's grip, shot a glare at Caroline and then finally took off towards the restroom without another word.

"Thank you... for stopping her from hitting me." Katherine mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

"You're welcome." Caroline replied surprised, having not expected any expression of appreciation.

They both waited in silence until Elena returned, Katherine keeping her eyes open, just in case Elena was up to something.

"Move." Elena demanded rudely, once she came back. Katherine just stared at her, raising an eyebrow.

"What's the magic word?"

"Move _now_."

"Nuh uh. Don't think so." Katherine drawled, amused by the glare she received.

They kept on staring at each other, both trying to get the other to back down. Caroline silently watched them, wondering who would give in. However, they were both pretty stubborn, but eventually Elena had enough and just wanted to get back to her seat.

So with a huff and eye roll she pushed out an angry "Please" and continued to glare at Katherine, who finally pulled her legs back, smirking at Elena.

.

The rest of the flight went by surprisingly uneventful, since Elena obviously accepted the fact she couldn't fight with Katherine all the time.

Soon enough all three girls had their sleep masks on and were in deep slumber, while their plane was somewhere over the great blue ocean.

And it was a rare view, as they were leaning onto each other during their sleep. Katherine and Elena's heads had dropped onto Caroline's shoulders, while Caroline herself leaned onto Katherine's head.

Later on, she would of course act like that had never happened.

/

When they finally landed at some airport near Rome and retrieved their luggage, Katherine dragged them to the airport's Rent-a-Car service and was on the brink of compelling them another Porsche, when Caroline quickly reminded her that they still needed a SUV type of car.

Katherine just smirked at her as she told the guy at the counter to give them a Porsche Cayenne.

"Here are they keys and the car is located at B34." The guy said in the typical tone that compelled humans had.

"Katherine!" Caroline exclaimed exasperated.

"Relax Blondie and follow me." Katherine smirked, taking the car keys from the counter. She was surprised Elena didn't add her two cents, but with a quick glance she saw that her doppelgänger was busy with her phone and probably didn't even pay any attention to her and Caroline.

However, she started following them out of the small Rent-a-Car building and towards the parking lot, where Katherine looked out for the B Section and rather quickly found spot 34.

There stood a quite new looking white Porsche Cayenne, obviously more a SUV type like the one Katherine left behind at home.

"Happy?" Katherine made a snarky remark towards Caroline.

"Yes." Caroline shot back. She was glad Katherine actually got them a car they both could live with. Katherine got her Porsche and Caroline the SUV type.

"Now that you both solved your car issue, can you open up?" Elena finally spoke up, her tone clearly annoyed.

"Of course, Ma'am." Katherine mocked her while unlocking the car doors.

"Never call me that again." Elena snapped.

"Alright… Sir." Katherine added as an afterthought, smirking at Elena. She had to admit, as much as she missed being able to be all sappy with Elena, teasing her was just as much fun.

.

They packed their things into the trunk and once again Katherine sat in the driver's seat, Caroline shotgun and Elena in the back.

Katherine suggested for them to look for a place to stay the night and start their search tomorrow.

The other girls agreed and soon they hit the road again.

/

The car ride was in a comfortable silence, only soft music coming from the radio, as both Caroline and Elena were fascinated by the landscape rushing by. Katherine had her window down, enjoying the warm air that caressed her face and made her hair blow in the wind.

They were driving for nearly an hour when Katherine finally pulled up in front of a small but cozy looking bed and breakfast. It was out of town and more rural, with a beautiful old stone facade.

"Wait here." Katherine ordered and slipped out of the car, heading towards the main building.

The other girls watched her go, Elena actually checking Katherine's body out, unconsciously licking her lips at the way she swayed her hips. Irritated at herself she mentally shook her head and then leaned forward to face Caroline.

"Do you think she will compel us each a room or we have to share with her?" Elena's tone was laced with disgust.

"Hmm, I'm not sure. But it won't be that bad." Caroline shrugged.

"It's just to sleep and only for one night." She quickly added when she saw Elena's incredulous look.

Just when Elena opened her mouth to retort something, Katherine knocked against Caroline's window and gestured them to come out.

Behind her stood a tall grown young boy, probably around 18, with short blond hair and a crooked smile, which reminded Elena of Matt.

While the other two girls climbed out the car, Katherine had already opened the trunk and the boy got their luggage out.

"Hello!" He greeted them, with a thick italian accent. Then he turned to call someone and a few seconds later another tall boy, but with dark brown hair appeared in the door.

Together they carried the heavy suitcases into the house and down a hallway, where they opened the last door on the left, revealing a room with three single beds. This would obviously answer Elena's question from before. Nevertheless, Elena liked it. The warm light coming through the windows let it appear cozy and comfortable and created a calming atmosphere.

"Katherine! So nice seeing you again." Suddenly a voice rang out.

They turned around to see a middle-aged woman with green eyes and auburn hair coming towards them. She wore jeans with a white blouse and smiled warmly at her new guests. It was obvious that she was the owner of this B&B and even more obvious that she knew Katherine.

Caroline and Elena both threw a confused glance towards Katherine, who ignored them and instead surprised them by smiling warmly back at the woman.

"Stefani!" She exclaimed and enveloped her in a tight hug.

Elena narrowed her eyes at this action. _Who is this woman?_

"What are you doing here?" Stefani asked excitedly, pulling back to study Katherine's face. "You look good, honey."

"Thank you." Katherine chuckled. "Unfortunately I'm only staying for a night."

The woman's face fell after Katherine's statement.

"Oh, well I hope you'll stay longer again someday. I missed you." Stefani winked at her, causing Katherine to actually blush faintly and cast her eyes downward.

Caroline and Elena stood next to them, observing the scene silently. While Caroline was stunned to see that Katherine apparently had people who liked her, Elena couldn't help but feel a slight pang of jealousy pulling at her heart.

_Had Katherine something going on with this woman or is she just a really close friend?_

A gasp pulled her back out of her thoughts and when she looked up, she realized Stefani finally spotted her.

"Oh my god, Katherine!" She faced Katherine again. "Why did you never tell me you had a twin sister?"

"Because I just found out recently." Katherine lied smoothly.

"Oh?" Stefani raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, we were separated at birth so we're making this trip to bond a little bit." She pointed towards Caroline. "And this is Caroline, Elena's best friend. When she heard we would fly to Italy she so badly wanted to come with us we just couldn't refuse her." Katherine explained, with a wide smile that seemed way too happy and a side glance to the girls that said "just play along".

Both girls understood and nodded with a smile to confirm Katherine's story.

"Yeah, I mean when would I ever get the chance to fly to Italy again, y'know?" Caroline said eagerly.

The green-eyed woman laughed at the blonde girl. "You're right, girl."

.

Stefani soon left to prepare dinner and left the girls behind to shower and change. When Caroline asked how Katherine and Stefani knew each other, Katherine replied that she already had been here for several times during the last couple of years. She and Stefani had become close friends and Katherine loved to stay here. Everyone here was so nice and kind. She further explained that those two boys from earlier were Stefani's sons.

She might let out the little detail that Stefani was a lesbian and that they had landed in bed together more than once during Katherine's stays. The older vampire doubted that would be helpful, considering her current state with Elena. She saw that Elena was already kind of suspicious of her relationship towards their host. Yet it gave her a satisfied feeling, as she was sure to see a little jealousy showing in Elena's eyes.

.

Dinner was served outside, where the sun was already setting and the last rays made everything glow in a warm red light. Various plants and flowers were planted around the stone terrace and everything looked really beautiful. There were also other guests, but they sat at another table and kept to themselves. The three girls instead shared a table with Stefani and her sons. Caroline and Elena learned that the blonde one was Paolo and the other was Riccardo. Paolo was rather funny and good-humored, who made them all laugh, while Riccardo was more the flirty type, who obviously liked Caroline, using all of his italian charm on her.

It made Elena laugh at her friend, who seemed slightly embarrassed, but nevertheless happy to be here.

Katherine was glad that they all had a good time together and that Elena seemed to be happy as well and had stopped her bickering with Katherine. For now at least.

Moreover she was glad that Stefani hadn't made any move on her yet. She hoped that the woman didn't expect to get any tonight and it wasn't a mistake to bring Elena here.

.

After dinner Caroline and Elena claimed it was the best pasta they ever had. Stefani shrugged them off with a modest smile and told them they would be welcomed to eat pasta again anytime.

It was 9pm now and they wished each other a good night while slowly retreating back to their room, where they still had to divide the three beds.

Elena claimed the one that stood next to the window, which gave a perfect view on the lamplit garden.

Caroline once again chose the bed in the middle, as to prevent the doppelgängers from killing each other during the night. Not that sleeping between them would really help in that case.

Katherine took the last free bed surprisingly without any complains. She didn't feel like putting up a fight with the younger girls and at least it was the closest to the bathroom, so she could be the first one in the morning.

.

While Elena was in the bathroom changing, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Katherine called out. She already knew who it would be and she braced herself for what would come.

"Hey." Stefani's head appeared, just like Katherine had predicted.

"I hope I'm not disrupting, but Katherine do you mind having a talk?" She asked Katherine with a small smile.

"Sure." Katherine faked a smile. She had no nerve for talking right now, but still she couldn't bring herself to deny Stefani's request.

Katherine followed Stefani out of the room, ignoring Caroline's curious glances, who sat on her bed waiting for Elena to finish so she could use the bathroom.

Stefani silently led Katherine through the house and back out on the terrace. However, she kept walking until they reached a bench in the back of the garden, which actually could be seen from the girl's window.

Unfortunately Katherine didn't know that, otherwise she probably would've asked Stefani to go somewhere else, had she also known what Stefani planned to do.

.

Five minutes later, Elena came out of the bathroom, surprised to only find Caroline.

"Where's Katherine?"

"Stefani came and asked for a talk. Don't know where they went." The blonde girl said, then jumped off of her bed, grabbed her things and headed for the bathroom.

The mention of Stefani and her and Katherine having a talk, left an uneasy feeling in Elena's stomach, but she ignored it and walked over to her bed.

She contemplated opening the window to let fresh air in, when something outside caught her eye. Curiously she walked closer to the window and the sight she was met with made her freeze on the spot.

Outside on a wooden bench, in the darkness only surrounded by lanterns which created a rather romantic atmosphere, sat Katherine and Stefani.

But what had made Elena freeze, was the fact they were actually caught up in a kiss. Stefani had her left hand on Katherine's cheek, holding her close as her mouth moved against Katherine's.

Elena clenched her fists as anger boiled up inside of her. _So much for Katherine supposedly loving me._

The younger brunette quickly turned around and took deep breaths to calm herself. She unclenched her fists and hastily wiped at her eyes. She would not cry over a woman she hated.

_We are not in a relationship and I hate her. Katherine can kiss who she wants. _

Elena told herself that over and over again. Still, deep down it hurt Elena to see Katherine make out with someone else.

When she heard the bathroom door getting unlocked, she quickly slipped under the covers, with her back towards Caroline and her front facing the wall next to the window.

"Elena?" She heard Caroline ask carefully, but she pretended to be asleep already.

Caroline sighed, turned off the lights and climbed into her own bed. She briefly wondered when Katherine would come back, but once her head met the soft pillow she realized how tired she actually was and within seconds she was fast asleep.

.

Another five minutes later, the door opened slowly and Katherine slipped into the room.

Quiet breathing filled the room and Katherine was extra careful not to wake anyone. She quickly changed in the bathroom and when she came back out, she tip toed towards the window to open it. _It's way too hot in here._

She glanced outside and her eyes widened in shock when she realized, that whoever stood here, had perfect view on the bench, where Stefani had literally attacked her with a kiss. Katherine had been taken of guard and was too stunned to actually do anything against it at first. She hoped no one, especially Elena, had seen them, but a sharp voice that startled her told her otherwise.

"Had fun with that bitch?" Katherine jumped a little at the sudden voice. She had thought Elena was already asleep. She turned her head towards the voice and was met with a pair of dark eyes staring at her, glistening with anger and hate.

Obviously Elena had seen them. But of course she hadn't seen what had happened after the kiss. How she had pushed Stefani off of her and told her that she know was kind of taken and they couldn't spend the night together like they used to. Stefani was disappointed, but she kept it hidden and wished Katherine all the best with her new love. Then she had wished Katherine a good night and hastily left afterwards.

Although she liked to see Elena jealous, it wasn't Stefani's fault and she wouldn't allow her to call her a bitch.

"She's not a bitch." She snarled quietly.

"Yeah right. You are." Elena snapped back, hurt now evident in her voice.

"Elena." She sighed. "It's not what you think it is."

Elena only let out a dry chuckle at Katherine's words. "Of course not."

Then she rolled over, her back now facing Katherine. For her this conversation was over now. Katherine let out another sigh and rubbed her temple. Elena was really confusing her. One time she was all spiteful and taunting towards her, other times she acted like this. Like there was no compulsion keeping them from each other and she had actually feelings for Katherine, which now were obviously hurt.

Katherine shook her head at herself. Of course Elena had feelings for her. Beneath all of those compelled hate she still loved her. It wasn't easy for neither of them and Katherine liked to believe it would make them only stronger in the end; that they had to conquer this big issue and then they could be happy together.

"Why do you even care, huh? It's not your business anyway." Katherine said, trying to mask the pain in her voice with annoyance.

"You're right. And I don't." Elena replied bitterly. She bit her lip, desperately trying to keep her tears at bay. Why the hell was she crying? She hated Katherine! There was absolutely no reason she should be crying about her.

"I'm sorry." Katherine whispered, tears welling in her eyes, too, as she longingly glanced at Elena's back. Oh, how she wished she could just walk over there, slip in behind Elena and hold her. But right now it would probably only bring her a fist right into her face.

"Shut up." Elena's voice cracked so slightly, Katherine wasn't sure whether she heard right.

Katherine bit her lip, trying to keep her tears from falling. How could such a perfect day end so horrible?

She quietly walked over to her own bed, laid down on her back and stared at the ceiling. She could feel Elena glaring at her, but chose to ignore her.

Soon she heard Elena's breath slow down and once she was sure her doppelgänger was asleep, she finally relaxed into her pillow.

However, she continued to stare at the ceiling, thinking about the night two weeks ago, when she was able to share a bed with Elena. She felt a tear run down her cheek and angrily wiped it off. Katherine was so sick and tired of crying.

Although it was very selfish, it made the older doppelgänger feel a little bit better to know she was not the only one hurting right now. It showed Katherine that Elena still cared about her and reminded her that those hateful comments were just the outcome of the compulsion.

It was just a phase that needed to be overcome and soon they could be together again.

As she laid there in the darkness, thinking about how they would find Rebekah, she was slowly lulled to sleep by listening to Elena and Caroline's regular breathing.

* * *

**Can I reach 165 reviews before I post Chapter 20? :b**


	20. Jealousy

**AN: Wow. I asked for 165 and got 172 reviews. You guys are insane! As a _thank you_ I quickly finished the new chapter. Hope you like it. :)**

* * *

The next morning was kinda awkward.

Elena and Katherine avoided each other and there was visible awkwardness between Stefani and Katherine, leading to a very confused Caroline.

She had no idea what caused this mood change and wondered what could possibly had happened while she was asleep.

When she approached Elena upon this subject the doppelgänger put on a fake smile and assured her everything was fine, but Caroline didn't believe her. She could see it in Elena's eyes, but her best friend obviously didn't want to talk about it, so she didn't push any further. It was very untypical for the blonde girl, but Elena was thankful and Caroline could feel it.

.

After an awkward breakfast and an even more awkward farewell, they were finally on the road again. This time Elena sat behind Caroline. Although she still avoided Katherine, she couldn't help but steal a glance at her doppelgänger every once in a while.

Katherine tried her best to keep up an indifferent look as she focused on the street, but Elena could see the pain hiding in her beautiful features.

Katherine could feel Elena's glances, but didn't return them, afraid of what she might see in Elena's eyes.

Some further investigations told them that they unfortunately chose the wrong airport and where about nine hours away from the church Matt had mentioned.

The only problem now was that Caroline had called Matt now almost 24hrs ago and with the time difference in Europe it was possible that he and Rebekah had already left to another country.

No one said it out loud, but they all knew it and consequently were pretty tense and stressed.

However, after the first two hours all three vampires didn't waste another thought about the possibility of them already gone and started to simply enjoy the drive and the landscape rushing by.

After all they got to see Italy, even though it was nothing like being here for vacation and actually go sight seeing or to the beach, but it was enough and maybe they would even visit another country.

Although Elena wanted nothing more than to be far away from Katherine right now, she also secretly wished for Matt and Rebekah to be gone already, so she would get to see more of the world.

_I mean, when would I ever get the chance for such a trip again, right?_

_/_

Three and a half hour later Katherine left the highway and pulled up to a gas station.

"After I refueled, do you guys want to take a break here?" Katherine asked, facing the girls with raised eyebrows.

"Sure." Caroline replied nonchalantly.

Elena mumbled some agreement under her breath before she turned to look out of the window again.

"Alright." With that Katherine got out of the car and walked to the gas cap, which was on the side where Elena sat.

While Katherine was busy opening the cap, the passenger's door opened and Caroline jumped out.

"I need to use the restroom. I'll be right back."

"Ok." Katherine acknowledged, before turning around to grab the gas pump.

When she once again faced the car she saw how Elena quickly averted her eyes. With a grimace mixed with amusement and pain she began to fuel up the car, her eyes never leaving Elena.

She studied the younger girl and admired how her brown hair gleamed in the sun.

When Elena shot her a glance again, glaring when she found Katherine staring at her, the older vampire showed her a small smile.

"What?" She could hear Elena's irritated voice through the closed window.

"Nothing. You just look really beautiful…" Katherine trailed off, watching Elena's reaction.

Her doppelgänger scoffed at her. "You can say stuff like that to _Stefani_." Elena spat out her name like it was some kind of disease.

It was like something finally clicked in Katherine's mind. How she could not see it earlier was beyond her.

"You're jealous." She stated chuckling.

"I am not jealous." Elena whipped around, her eyes sparkling furious. It only added to Katherine's amusement and a sly grin formed on her lips.

"Of course you're not." Katherine mocked in a sing song voice.

The pain she felt from last night was immediately gone with this new found information. Katherine took this as another proof of Elena's true feelings. And once she realized this, she formed a plan in her mind to make Elena even more jealous.

She finished fueling up and strutted towards the building to actually pay this time since there were other customers around, making it difficult to compel the staff.

The older vampire smirked as she added a little extra sway to her hips, well knowing Elena was watching.

_Well, this road trip just got better, now that I found the perfect way to tease Elena._

.

Right as she entered the shop she saw Caroline returning from the restroom.

"Caroline!" She exclaimed, gesturing for her to come closer.

"Katherine. What's up?"

"I came up with a plan." Katherine said mysteriously, causing Caroline to furrow her brows in suspicion.

"What kind of plan?"

"You and I are gonna make Elena jealous." Katherine revealed, smirking proudly.

Caroline's eyes widened. "What? I'm _not _gonna act like your new girlfriend. Besides, Elena's not gonna believe it anyway."

She shot an incredulous look at Katherine, who sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I didn't say you should be my _girlfriend_. We'll just act like we grew much closer with each other."

"And what is the point of that? Why should we make Elena jealous?" Caroline asked confused.

Katherine groaned. "Because! Just play along."

She didn't feel like explaining herself to Caroline, but the other girl still looked unconvinced.

"Please?" She added pleadingly.

Caroline stared at her unbelievingly. Did Katherine Pierce just say willingly please?

"Fine." She threw her hands up. "I have no idea why, but I'm in!"

"Thank you!" Katherine took Caroline by complete surprise when she jumped forward and actually engulfed her in a hug. Caroline awkwardly patted Katherine's back and then pushed her off of her.

"Alright, this will be slightly weird, but I think I will manage."

"Great. I'mma pay real quick and then we can take a break." Katherine grinned excitedly, winking at her and took off towards the counter, leaving an extremely irritated and slightly flustered Caroline behind.

_What the bloody hell just happened?_

_/_

Five minutes later they sat at a table, a couple meters away from the gas station. They were munching on sandwiches Stefani had prepared for them and enjoyed the warm weather.

There were other people using the highway picnic area, mostly with children, who were running around the meadow, laughing happily as they chased each other.

Katherine and Caroline sat next to each other, opposite of Elena. Katherine was the whole time chattering about various things with Caroline and always would lean towards her, touch her by accident or smile warmly at her.

The blonde vampire tried her best to play along and hide her discomfort by Katherine's new display of affection towards her. She was sure Elena would look right through Katherine's scheming, because it just seemed too unnatural for her own mind.

Yet, a look towards Elena told her that Katherine was right. Elena seemed indeed jealous. The brunette tried to hide it, but Caroline looked right through her attempts. Elena tried to keep up an emotionless face, but she couldn't help but watch them with a grumpy look on her face, making Katherine's grin even wider.

And once Katherine and Caroline came to the topic _Fashion_, it didn't take long until Caroline bonded with Katherine for real and actually grew more comfortable with pretending to like her better now. Who knows, maybe they wouldn't need to pretend anymore someday. And when Katherine eventually got back together with Elena, Caroline had to tolerate anyways, so why not start already today?

When Katherine supposedly by accident brushed her hand against Caroline's again, it was too much for Elena. She jumped up with a start, startling the other girls. She mumbled a quick apology and then took off towards the outdoor restrooms.

"Well done, Katherine." Caroline said and was about to follow Elena, when a hand held her back.

"I'll look after her. Stay here." Katherine said with a mischievous grin.

"You think that's a good idea?" Caroline eyed Katherine, unsure about her intentions.

"Absolutely." Katherine said cheerfully and hopped off her seat.

Caroline sighed and put her head in her hands. Hopefully this went well. She had no idea what to do if not.

.

Katherine found her doppelgänger standing in front of the mirror, angrily staring at herself.

"Hey, you ok?" Katherine asked softly, startling Elena.

"Not your business." Elena snapped, glaring at her.

"Oh come on Elena. I can see you're obviously not ok. Talk to me." Katherine persisted, crossing her arms over her chest.

Elena glanced at her and her breath hitched when she saw Katherine's eyes full with concern.

"Why do you even care?" Elena's voice was slightly shaking and she mentally berated herself for it.

"Because I do. I care about you, Elena." Katherine's voice was soft.

Elena looked like a lost cute puppy and when a lone tear escaped her eyes, Katherine had to use all her willpower to stop herself from closing the distance between them and pull Elena into a hug. It was hard, but she managed.

Nevertheless, she took a step forward and reached her arm out to comfort Elena.

"Hey. Why are you crying? Don't cry." She cooed. When she brushed her hand against Elena's arm, the other girl flinched back. Elena hadn't done it intentionally, she was just surprised by Katherine's concern and touch, that was all. Although Katherine quickly tried to hide it, Elena saw the hurt flashing in her eyes and it made her feel kinda bad.

"It's ok." Elena snapped, quickly wiping at her eyes.

"No, it's not _ok_." Katherine's voice was stern and her eyes stared at Elena intently.

"Don't you have to get back to Caroline or something?" Elena finally cried out, wanting nothing more than to be alone for a few minutes.

Katherine had a hard time keeping in her knowing smirk as she raised her eyebrows in feigned surprise.

"What? Now you're jealous of Caroline? Seriously Elena?"

"No! Why would I be jealous of Caroline?" Elena shouted a little bit to forcefully.

"I don't know, you tell me." Katherine teased, an innocent look on her face.

Elena stared at her incredulous. How dare she to assume Elena would be jealous over Katherine being nice to Caroline. But a part of her knew that Katherine was right. She _was_ jealous of Caroline and she mentally slapped herself for showing it so openly. Of course she would never admit it to anyone. Not even herself.

"Fuck off, Katherine." Elena shook her head and tried to push past Katherine.

The older vampire had other plans instead and snatched Elena's wrist, turning her around. "Elena wait!"

"What?!" Elena yelled, snatching her hand away from Katherine's.

Her breath hitched when she looked up and saw Katherine's face only inches from her own. She could feel her hot breath on her face and unintentionally glanced at Katherine's luscious lips, unconsciously licking her own.

Katherine saw Elena's reaction and smirked at her doppelgänger.

"What's wrong?" Katherine whispered teasingly. Her eyes scanned over Elena's face, her mind savoring the moment she could be this close to Elena again. She slightly furrowed her brows in confusion when she saw struggle appear in Elena's eyes. It quickly deformed into determination and before Katherine could wonder why, she was taken by complete surprise as Elena suddenly pushed her against the wall.

Elena had no idea why she did what she did, but in that moment it felt right.

Without another glance at Katherine's surprised eyes she closed her own and leaned forward, pressing her lips to Katherine's in a rough kiss.

Katherine's eyes widened even more in shock, but she quickly regained composure and eagerly started kissing back.

The kiss was rough and hard, but passionate and full of untold emotions. Katherine moaned when Elena's tongue slipped into her mouth and surprisingly quick dominated her own.

She was in heaven as she buried her hands in Elena's silky hair, while the other girl also couldn't deny the warm feeling growing in her stomach and the numerous zaps of electricity bolting through her body.

Suddenly Elena seemed to realize what she was doing and hastily pushed herself off of Katherine. Katherine groaned at the loss of contact and tried to pull Elena back to her.

But the other girl backed away and stared at her with wide eyes. Then she did something extremely unexpected, that surprised both girls.

She slapped Katherine in the face, making her head snap to the left. The older vampire gasped and slowly faced Elena, holding her stinging cheek.

Elena stood there, mouth open, obviously shocked at her own actions. She closed and opened her mouth a couple times like she was trying to say something, but in the end she just turned on her heels and hurried out of the restroom, leaving an astonished Katherine behind.

/

Caroline still sat at the table, fidgeting in her seat, as she waited for the doppelgängers to come back. She had no idea what was happening over there and she was dying to know, but refrained herself from eavesdropping.

She wanted to give them some privacy and hoped Elena would tell her later, but she doubted that would happen.

She sighed and was just about to get up and see if everything was alright, when she saw Elena storming out of the restroom, obviously upset.

Caroline groaned inwardly. _What had Katherine done now?_

A few moments later, Katherine appeared, looking a little ruffled up. Her right cheek looked slightly redder and Caroline wondered if Elena had slapped her.

The way Katherine stared after Elena while rubbing her cheek, confirmed Caroline's assumption and made her snicker.

_Elena slapping Katherine? Too bad I didn't get to see that._

Would she still think the same, if she knew what had happened before? Probably not.

Katherine turned her head to face the blonde, who sat at the table grinning gleefully at her. Katherine gritted her teeth as she realized that Caroline had probably connected the dots by now and knew Elena slapped her.

With a halfhearted beckon, she gestured Caroline to come back to the car. Caroline wrapped up their half eaten sandwiches and then jogged towards the Porsche.

Elena already sat in the back and when Caroline saw how shaken Elena looked, she decided to sit next to her best friend this time. She was sure Katherine wouldn't mind being alone in the front right now.

When she opened the door Elena glanced up in surprise and her blonde friend could see the troubled pain in her eyes. Caroline shot her a concerned, yet heartwarming smile, which Elena tried to return, but failed miserably.

She scooted closer to the brunette and when she put an arm around her shoulder, Elena broke and threw herself into Caroline's embrace.

It broke Katherine's heart to see Elena crying like that and wished it would be her in Caroline's place, which would of course never happen because it was kinda her fault Elena was like that. This realization teared even more at her heart and she quickly climbed into the driver's seat. Using the radio and focussing on the street as a distraction, she tried to blend out the sobbing coming from the backseat and Caroline's whispered soothing words.

/

Elena hated herself for breaking down like this, but couldn't help herself. Being torn between hating and loving Katherine was simply too much for her right now. Besides, she had no idea what had come over herself. Moreover she was unable to forget the feeling of Katherine's lips on hers. She even could still taste her.

While she clung to Caroline, she risked a glance at Katherine. The vampire stared blankly forward and tried to maintain a cool exterior, but her jaw was clenched and her knuckles were turning white from gripping the steering wheel to tightly.

Katherine suddenly had the feeling of being watched and when she looked up into the rearview mirror she was met with Elena's shining brown does.

Elena could tell that Katherine tried to keep up her emotionless mask, but her eyes betrayed her. They were filled with hurt and regret, probably at pushing Elena.

Katherine broke their eye contact and Elena could see her biting her lip to stop her jaw from quivering. Elena sighed and snuggled closer to her best friend, breathing in her sweet perfume. It calmed her nerves and she closed her eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep, while Caroline gently stroked her hair and massaged her scalp.

When Caroline was sure Elena was asleep she looked up at the other vampire.

"Will you tell me what happened? After all we're now closer to each other, right?" Caroline mocked, having an audible edge to her tone.

She saw Katherine clench her jaw and gripping the steering wheel even tighter. So tight, she was afraid it might would break.

"We talked." Katherine finally pushed out, avoiding eye contact.

"So nothing else happened?" Caroline pushed further.

"No."

Caroline could tell Katherine tried to keep her voice firm, but there was still a hint of uncertainty to it.

"So you're trying to deny the fact that she slapped you?" Caroline said, almost nonchalant while she played with Elena's hair. She could hear Katherine's sharp intake of air and knew she hit a soft spot.

"Who said she slapped me?" Katherine tried to ask with the same nonchalance Caroline had, but failed.

"Don't play dumb with me Katherine!" Caroline almost shouted, but forced her voice down so she wouldn't wake up Elena.

"Fine." Katherine huffed. "She slapped me. You're happy now?"

"Why?"

The older vampire fidgeted in her seat as she stalled the answer. She tried to focus on the street and pondered whether or not to tell Caroline about the kiss. Although it made her really happy it also confused her like hell as well.

With a groan she finally answered Caroline. "We might have… kissed."

She prolonged every word and made a small pause before she eventually revealed what had happened between her and Elena back there in the dirty restroom.

"You.. kissed?" Caroline gasped, eyes widening in shock. She certainly didn't expect _that._

"Yeah." Katherine mumbled.

Then she suddenly locked her eyes on Caroline's through the rearview mirror.

"And before you think I forced it on her, it was actually Elena who pushed me against the wall and kissed me, so don't judge me if I used the chance to kiss her back"

Caroline looked down at her best friend sleeping in her lap, her eyebrows raised in surprise. Elena had pushed Katherine against the wall and kissed her? Usually she would think that Katherine was kidding, since the slap and Elena's breakdown spoke otherwise, but she had seen the sincerity in Katherine's eyes and she actually could imagine Elena kissing Katherine and then slapping her out of shock at her own actions.

Still, she needed confirmation.

"Let's say I believe you. Why did she slap you?"

"I don't know." Katherine whined. "Suddenly she pushed herself off of me and then slapped me. But I could see she was as surprised and shocked at the slap as I was."

Katherine let out a low laugh. It was really ironic of Elena to first lose her control and then kiss her passionately, just to slap her across the face the next moment. She felt like she was stuck in some badly written tv show and her and Elena were the main couple that had _a lot_ of issues to solve. It was really complicated and she just hoped for them to find Rebekah soon.

"Oh. Well I can imagine. It's not like Elena to kiss people and then slap them."

Both girls shared a quiet chuckle. Then they were silent again, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. Elena stirred in her sleep and snuggled even closer to Caroline, nuzzling her face in her stomach.

Caroline chuckled at her friend and leaned back, closing her own eyes.

"Wake me if you're tired of driving." She offered Katherine.

"Okay." Katherine replied, glancing at the two girls in the backseat. With another glance towards the GPS device she saw there were still five hours left until they would reach their destination.

Sighing she returned her eyes back on the highway and pushed a little harder on the gas pedal. She replayed the kiss over and over again in her head and couldn't wait until she could kiss Elena again without getting slapped afterwards.

Hopefully they weren't too late and Rebekah was still there.

* * *

_A few replies to reviews:_

_ MelissaOnTrack111 - I didn't even do it on purpose. I first realized it when I read your comment :D_

_ forevercouldwedream - I had that planned even before you suggested it. :p Although I first wanted to get them naturally closer, it's now part of Katherine's plan._

_ moonstruckgirl15 - Don't worry. They maybe, maybe not find her in the next chapter! ;)_

_ everyone else reviewing - THANK YOU AND I LOVE YOU ! You're literally the best. xx_


	21. What a lovely Surprise

**AN: First of all BULGARIA WAS AMAZING! I WANNA GO BACK! :D**

**Secondly, OMFG! 103 followers and almost 200 reviews. You guys are amazing. I love you so much! :)**

**And thirdly, I'm SO glad I finished this chapter already bc like I said on my tumblr I wasn't sure when I would be able to upload... **

**I'm sorry for the long wait and I'm so so sorry I have to tell you that I'll be gone again this Sunday and this time I'm with my best friend in Budapest and neither know how long I'll be gone nor if I'll be able to write. So it might be a long wait again.. Just warning you. :/**

**But enough. Here is the new chapter. Enjoy! Hope you like it. :)**

* * *

While Caroline and the doppelgängers were driving through Italy, Stefan and Damon were on their way to drop of another blood bag at Elena's house.

They pulled up to Elena's house, got out and walked towards the front door, when Damon suddenly stopped walking, causing his brother to crash into his back.

"What the hell, Damon? What's wrong?" Stefan exclaimed.

"You brought Elena blood yesterday, right?" Damon glanced over his shoulder.

"Yes, why?" Stefan asked confused.

Damon took a step to the side, revealing the front door and an untouched blood bag lying on the doormat. Stefan's eyes widened.

"Maybe she just forgot it." He tried to shrug it off, but something told him he was wrong.

Damon shot him an incredulous look. "Yeah right. She always took them in."

"Then why would she leave it out here?"

"Hell, I don't know!" Damon threw his hands up, then he slowly approached the door.

"Felt anything off yesterday?"

"Not that I remember. I came here, dropped it off and left." Stefan mused, trying to remember yesterday evening. This time he hadn't waste any time waiting for Elena to open the door and just left without a second look. Now he regretted it deeply.

Damon picked the blood bag up and perked his ears.

_Silence_.

His eyes widened. He could neither hear a heartbeat nor the steady breathing of Elena. Any sound of movement was also missing.

The house was empty. Elena had left.

"Damn it Stefan!" Damon suddenly yelled, snapping his brother out of his thoughts.

"What's wrong?" Stefan asked wide-eyed. He had been still thinking about last night.

"SHE'S GONE!" His brother yelled angrily.

"What?! How?" Stefan shouted irritated.

Damon ignored him as he pushed open the door and entered the house, screaming Elena's name. He blurred up the stairs and into her room. The bed was empty and the closet door was open. Damon could tell that Elena's bag was missing and some of her clothes. He couldn't believe Elena just left like that. _And where the hell did she go?_

"Her bag and some of her clothes are missing." Damon said out loud, knowing that Stefan stood in the doorway.

His brother walked over to the window, pushing the red curtain to the side.

"Her car is also gone. Oh my god, how could I miss this last night?" Stefan gasped, shaking his head at himself in disbelief.

"The same way you missed that there was no one at home! Well done, Stefan." Damon said furious. He knew it wasn't really his brother's fault, but at the moment he didn't care. He just needed someone to yell at.

"But wait, isn't that Caroline's car?" Stefan asked, pointing at the Ford on the other street side.

Damon appeared next to him and looked through the window to where Stefan's finger was pointing.

"I think so. So she left with Caroline?" Damon said, somewhat relieved.

"Where do you think they went?" Stefan asked, looking around the room.

"I have no idea." Damon glanced at his younger brother.

"Maybe they just went to Bonnie or the mall?" Stefan tried.

"But that wouldn't explain why she left the blood bag outside." Damon replied.

"Maybe we should just call Elena then!" Stefan suggested, fishing his phone out of his back pocket.

"And you really think she would answer?" Damon scoffed at this little brother.

"I know, but we could at least try." Stefan replied, already dialing, but then he was directly met with Elena's voice saying she couldn't answer her phone.

"Voicemail. Her phone is off." He sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"That figures." His brother mocked him.

Stefan just rolled his eyes at Damon and tried to keep calm.

"Alright. I'll call Bonnie and you should call Caroline. At least one of them will know something." Damon said and pulled his own phone out.

Stefan nodded and scrolled through his contact list, looking for Caroline's number.

Damon saw the desperation in Stefan's eyes. His hard features softened and he put a hand on Stefan's arm as he looked into his eyes.

"We'll find her Stefan. I promise you."

/

The rest of the drive went by quite uneventful.

When there were only two hours left, Katherine pulled up to another gas station. Her almost racing driving style emptied the tank sooner than she had expected.

Before she exited the car she turned around and saw the two peacefully sleeping girls. Katherine smiled softly at them and noticed how cute Elena looked when she was asleep.

Careful, to not wake the girls, she closed the car door behind her and started to refill the tank.

Katherine was so lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice how the car door on the opposite side opened and Caroline got out.

When the blonde girl suddenly appeared next to her she jumped slightly, causing Caroline to chuckle at her.

"Sorry. Didn't want to scare you. But how about I drive now and you can rest a little bit?"

"Okay. I'm gonna go and pay, then we can leave." Katherine agreed, putting the gas pump back into its place.

Suddenly Caroline's phone began to ring. She took it from her pocket, wondering who would call her. When she saw the caller ID she groaned and looked up at Katherine, who had stopped walking and eyed her curiously.

"Stefan." Caroline explained, waving her phone in the air.

Katherine's eyes widened. "They probably realized Elena is not at home anymore."

"And what now? Should I answer?" Caroline asked unsure.

"You better do. And if he asks you where Elena is, just tell him you have no idea. We can't have them following us."

"Ok." Caroline nodded.

"Stefan, hey!" She answered the phone with fake-enthusiasm.

"Caroline! Hey, I'm just calling to see if you might know where Elena is." Stefan's voice came through the speaker and Caroline glanced towards Katherine. The older vampire shot her a See?-Told-you-so-look.

"What do you mean? I thought she's at home?" Caroline feigned surprise.

"No she's not. And we thought she's with you, since your car is in front of her house, you know?" Stefan explained, suspicion slowly growing in his voice.

Caroline's eyes widened and she looked at Katherine for help. But the other vampire was busy cussing under her breath and mentally berating herself.

_How could we be so stupid and leave Caroline's car right in front of Elena's house?_

"Uhm.." Caroline had no idea how to explain that. She gestured Katherine to come up with something, but the other girl just threw her hands up in exasperation.

"Just tell him something." Katherine whispered, hoping Stefan wouldn't hear her, but he did.

"Wait, was that Elena?" He asked quickly, glancing towards his brother, who stared at him curiously.

"I.." Caroline trailed off, still looking at Katherine.

Katherine groaned and then ripped the phone out of Caroline's hand.

"Stefan." She said in a perfect Elena imitation. The older vampire glanced towards the real Elena, glad to see she was still asleep.

"Elena! Where are you?" Stefan asked desperately. Damon put his phone back into his pocket, not even bothering to call Bonnie anymore and gestured Stefan to put her on speakerphone.

"I'm fine, Stefan. Just a little roadtrip with Caroline. I really needed to get out of that house." Katherine lied smoothly while rolling her eyes at the younger Salvatore's concern.

Caroline watched with fascination how easily Katherine could impersonate her best friend. It was slightly scary, but she was impressed nevertheless.

"Oh ok. Where did you go?" Stefan let out a relieved sigh, happy to know Elena was alright.

"I won't tell you, Stefan. Just know I'm fine, 'kay?" Katherine picked at her nails, clearly bored by now.

"But Elena…"

"No, Stefan! Just leave me alone. We'll be back soon enough." Katherine now became slightly annoyed at Stefan. Couldn't he just stop worry about Elena for a second and just let her live a little? And as far as Katherine knew, Damon had been her boyfriend before this all happened. Where was he anyway?

"Just tell us where you are, Elena." Suddenly Damon's angry voice could be heard. _Ah, there he is!_

"Why? So you can come here and take me back to Mystic Falls? No thank you, Damon." Katherine scoffed.

"Elena, just.." He growled menacingly, but Katherine cut him off, while rolling her eyes yet again.

"Urgh, I'm done. You know I'm fine now, so please stop bothering me. Bye." With that Katherine hang up and gave the phone back to Caroline.

"It's slightly scary how perfect you can imitate Elena." Caroline admitted.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Katherine winked at her, then she got serious again.

"The Salvatore Brothers are really annoying. If they call again, just reject them."

"Okay." Caroline nodded.

"Oh, and we can only hope they won't go to your house otherwise we're screwed." Katherine told her almost nonchalantly.

Caroline raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Why?"

"Because my car is also still at your house."

Then Katherine turned around to finally pay for the gas and Caroline climbed into the driver's seat, hoping Stefan and Damon wouldn't go to her house.

/

"Well, see? I promised you we would find her." Damon said with his typical smirk.

But Stefan didn't react. Instead he had a far-away look on his face as he was staring at Elena's red curtain.

"Stefan?" Damon asked, irritated at his little brother's behavior.

"Don't you feel like there's something off?" Stefan finally replied, still staring at the wall like it could tell him the truth about Elena's departure.

"Huh? You can't realize somethings off when it's right in front of your nose, but when there's absolutely no reason to worry you think there's something wrong? What is it with you?" Damon let out a low chuckle. His brother could be really weird sometimes.

Stefan now faced his brother with a serious look in his eyes. "I'm serious, Damon."

"I can tell." Damon smirked.

"Damon!" Stefan's voice was stern. He really felt like they were missing something very important about their current situation. Like it was right in front of them but he just couldn't grasp it.

"Okay, okay." Damon surrendered, holding his hands up. "Tell me what you think."

"First of all, don't you think it's kinda strange that Elena locked herself away for almost three weeks now and all of a sudden she feels like taking a roadtrip with Caroline? I mean, seriously?" Stefan voiced his thoughts, obviously confused by Elena's apparent change of mind.

Damon considered his words for a moment.

"Alright, you actually have a point there." Damon finally admitted.

"See?"

"But on the other side there's nothing wrong with suddenly wanting to get out of the house. I mean, it seems plausible since she didn't leave it for three weeks now."

Stefan groaned and covered his face with his hands.

"What Stefan, huh? She said she needed to get out of that house and she's still a girl. Girls change their mind all the time. That doesn't mean somethings off. Besides, she also said she would be back soon. So how about we wait for a couple of days and if you still think there's something off, then you can play the superhero." Damon ignored the glare he received.

"Aren't you supposed to be her boyfriend?"

"We broke up before the compulsion." Damon confessed, looking away.

"Oh." Stefan mumbled.

There was a short awkward silence between the brothers. Then Damon faced Stefan again.

"But it's obvious she doesn't want to talk to us. I think it might be better to give her what she wants instead of constantly forcing ourselves on her."

"Woah, since when are you so considerate?" Stefan mocked his older brother.

"Just face it Stefan. We screwed up. Big time." Damon exclaimed and walked out of Elena's room. He began to regret the compulsion. Maybe Rebekah had been right. They just needed to accept that Elena might feel something for Katherine. But Elena being gone completely now without even telling them proved once more that their pride was too big and prevented them from doing the right thing.

"What do you mean?" Stefan hurriedly followed him out of the house. Damon stopped walking and turned around, facing his brother with an angry yet pained expression.

"This whole compulsion thing! I seriously start to regret it. Who cares if Elena falls for Katherine? As long as she's happy. Because that's all I want for her. To be happy. Don't you want the same, Stefan?"

"Do you honestly believe Katherine would make her happy?" Stefan exclaimed unbelievingly.

"At least she seemed more happier _then_ than now. The compulsion was supposed to make her hate Katherine, but not hide herself away and be clearly unhappy about it." Damon scoffed.

His whole new opinion was cause by one simple reason. He missed Elena. He missed her so freaking much. He missed talking to her. Even just seeing her. He had laid awake several nights, thinking about it and realized that sometimes it was better to step back and let the other one go to make them truly happy.

"Wh.. I don't understand." Stefan was clearly confused about Damon's shift of opinion.

"I know I'm selfish most of the time. Especially when it comes to Elena. But I finally realized it's not our right to control her fucking life! If she loves Katherine there's nothing we can do about it." Damon explained.

Despite the fact that Damon still had trouble imagining Elena with Katherine, he said the truth. He wanted Elena to be happy. And if Katherine made her happy, then so be it. As long as he could still be a part of her life, he would be happy, too. Of course he still loved her and that wouldn't change anytime soon, but he knew sometimes you just can't win. And that you just have to accept that.

Now only Stefan needed to do the same.

"What caused this change of opinion?" Stefan asked, his shoulders slightly slumped. He couldn't believe that Damon would give up so easily.

"The fact she's avoiding us and locks herself away, Stefan. Had we left her and Katherine alone she probably would still talk to us. But how's the situation right now? She's unhappy, hiding herself away and avoiding us."

Stefan casted his eyes downwards. With a deep sigh he had to admit that his brother was right. He had been so busy trying to do the best for Elena. But his hate for Katherine blinded him so that he hadn't seen that _Katherine_ might be the best for her.

"But it's Katherine." Stefan tried one last time. He had a hard time to understand why his brother would be okay with her being with Elena. It was Katherine, for god's sake.

"I don't like it either. But I was the bad guy once, too, right?" Damon smirked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Yeah, you were." Stefan answered with a small smile. Elena had managed to tame Damon, but could she really do the same with Katherine?

"Where even is Katherine?" He suddenly asked his brother.

"She probably left town. I wouldn't blame her." Damon shrugged and walked over to their car.

"Now that we finally realized our mistake, maybe we should search for her?" Stefan suggested, scratching his head awkwardly. First they wanted to get rid of her, now they were actually about to give her a second chance. How quickly things could change.

"I think we should wait for Elena's comeback, first. And Rebekah's! It would be useless to find Katherine and ask her for forgiveness while Elena's still gone and compelled to hate her."

"Yeah, you're right."

"I'm always right." Damon smirked, sitting down behind the wheel. "Let's go Stefan."

Stefan chuckled at his brother and then took place on the passengers seat.

/

Half an hour later Katherine had just drifted off to sleep when Elena woke up. When she realized she laid on the backseat all alone she got up with a start, groaning when black spots started to fill her vision.

"Welcome back, sleepy head."

Elena was about to make a snarky reply when she realized it was actually Caroline and not Katherine who had greeted her.

"What are you doing in the driver's seat?" Elena yawned, her voice still laced with sleepiness.

"Obviously driving." Caroline chuckled at her friend.

"Where's Katherine?" Elena asked, trying to keep her voice casually.

Caroline glanced towards her right. Seeing a sleeping Katherine, looking so peaceful was quite a sight. Elena followed the blonde girl's look and let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding to begin with.

Had she really thought Katherine would just leave them? And was she really relieved to see she was still there? Elena inwardly shook her head, but behind the compulsion she knew that she was.

"Are we there yet?" Elena asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Seriously, Elena?" Caroline laughed at Elena's childish question.

"Just wondering." Elena chuckled.

"Well, according to our GPS device it's only one and a half hour away." Caroline said with a glance towards the little monitor showing their route.

Elena's eyes widened. Not even two hours anymore and they maybe finally found Rebekah. She began to fidget in her seat, nervously looking out of her window.

Caroline noticed the brunette's sudden anxiety.

"Elena." She called out softly, causing brown eyes to snap towards her.

"Everything will be fine, 'kay?"

"I know." Elena forced a smile on her lips, but she knew Caroline saw right through it.

"We'll find Rebekah and she will reverse the compulsion." Caroline sounded like she had not only to convince Elena but also herself. It helped very little to ease Elena's nervous mind.

"Mhm." Elena only mumbled as a response, turning back to look at the green fields rushing by.

A quick glance towards the other doppelgänger told Caroline that she was still asleep. She sighed and focused back on the street.

.

One hour later Katherine was awake again and they were all tense and fidgety.

Their destination came closer and closer. They were only half an hour left from what could be finally the end to this disaster or just would be another disappointment.

No one said a word, but they all thought the same. _Hopefully they are still there._

Caroline was more afraid then the other two girls, since she knew that Matt had left a week ago already. Even though he had told them on the phone he's in Italy, if he and Rebekah started their roadtrip here, they might be gone by now.

She glanced towards the doppelgängers. They were both staring out of the window with the same tense look on their faces, that Caroline once more got reminded of how identical they really were.

.

When the GPS device suddenly told them to turn left and then they would've reached their destination all eyes snapped forwards and everyone sat up straight with a start.

Katherine had typed in the address of the church Matt mentioned and there it was.

It was a small but beautiful church, right before the small town you could see a little bit more far away.

Caroline nervously parked the car on the small parking lot next to it and shut the engine.

They all sat in silence, staring at the church.

Finally Caroline cleared her throat.

"Uhm, should we get out?" She asked awkwardly.

Both doppelgängers glanced at her and then nodded. Caroline had to stifle a laugh at their involuntary synchronization.

They exited the car and slowly walked over to the church. There were only two other couples there, taking pictures.

Katherine's heart beat faster when one of the women had blonde hair like Rebekah, but when the woman turned around she was definitely not the blonde Original. Katherine swallowed her disappointment and glanced towards the two other girls.

They both seemed nervous and their eyes hurriedly scanned the place like they were looking for someone. Katherine knew exactly why as she was doing the same.

"Maybe they are inside?" Caroline suggested unsure, while playing with her bracelet.

"Maybe." Katherine agreed.

"But this is just some place to visit, remember that. Just because they're not here doesn't mean they already left." She added as an afterthought.

"Yeah, I know." Caroline said.

Elena stayed silent, but glared at Katherine when she shot her a worried glance. The other brunette sighed and strutted over to the huge entrance.

.

Inside it was comfortably cool, which was a welcomed change to the hot and sticky air outside. The girls walked down the aisle, admiring the beautiful artwork on the ceiling and the colorful windows. The altar seemed old, but nevertheless breathtaking. It was indeed a very beautiful church and Katherine couldn't deny the romantic vibe it radiated. She could tell why Rebekah would take Matt here.

"Wow, it's beautiful." Caroline whispered in awe.

"Yes." Elena breathed, her eyes wandering over the walls in fascination.

Katherine smiled at their words, but her smile faded away as soon as she let her eyes wander over the seats.

_They were all empty._

They were the only ones in here.

Rebekah and Matt were obviously not here.

"They're not here." Katherine stated with a sober expression, her voice hiding every hint of emotion, but when Elena looked at her, she could see the disappointment in her eyes.

Katherine's statement made Caroline turn around and scan the seats for herself. She let out a disappointed sigh when she realized Katherine was right.

"Then we should go to that little town and look there?" The blonde girl suggested.

"Mhm." Katherine only nodded and with one last look around the church she turned around and walked back down the aisle.

Caroline followed her, a sad look on her face. She really had hoped they would be here when they arrived.

Elena stayed a little bit back, not wanting to leave yet. She loved the romantic aura the church gave off and when her thoughts begun to drift off she suddenly saw herself standing in front of the altar kissing Katherine.

No, not like during a wedding, just like the tourist they saw outside, but it shocked her nevertheless. She quickly shook her head to disperse those thoughts and hurriedly followed after Katherine and Caroline.

.

"Elena?!"

Katherine had been leisurely strutting towards their car when a voice suddenly made her freeze in her tracks, causing Caroline to bump into her back.

"What the hell, Katherine!" The blonde vampire exclaimed, rubbing her forehead.

But before Katherine could respond, the same voice exclaimed "Caroline!" in the same surprised tone like before.

Both vampire's heads snapped to their right.

There stood Matt, staring at them unbelievingly.

"Matt!" Caroline exclaimed happily, rushing towards him and throwing her arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug.

Katherine chuckled at the boy's clearly surprised face.

"Matt!" Another voice exclaimed and when Katherine turned her head she saw Elena running towards him as well.

The blonde boy glanced confused between Katherine and Elena, but before he could open his mouth he was engulfed in yet another embrace.

When Elena finally let go of him he cleared his throat.

"What are you guys doing here?" He asked surprised, but obviously happy to see his friends.

"We're here on a roadtrip." Caroline revealed grinning.

Matt warily eyed Katherine. "With Katherine?"

The older brunette rolled her eyes at Matt's open display of dislike.

"Yeah, well it was kind of her idea." Caroline mumbled, playing with her hair.

"And we're not here for you." Katherine said halfheartedly, letting her eyes scan the area for a certain blonde person, but surprisingly couldn't find her.

"Do I even want to know?" Matt asked, with a crooked smile looking between Caroline and Elena.

"Probably not." Elena snickered.

The old friends shared a laugh, while Katherine stood next to them, clearly bored, but still tense.

_Where is Rebekah?_

Speaking of the devil…

"Well, what a lovely surprise." Suddenly a voice rang through the air as they heard steps coming closer.

All four heads snapped towards the blonde Original walking towards them, smirking devilish.

Elena's breath hitched and she nervously began to fidget with the hem of her shirt. She quickly glanced at Katherine and could see she was just as nervous as she was. Katherine's whole body had gone stiff and her heartbeat picked up as she watched Rebekah coming to a halt in front of them.

Rebekah smirked as she looked each of them into the face.

"Why are you really here?"


End file.
